Natsume Takako no Yuujincho
by Fiametta1808
Summary: Meet Takako, an average sixteen-year-old high schooler with an unusually fat cat, a Book containing what is effectively her own demon army, and secrets about her past that can only be revealed by speaking to spirits. And that's not even considering the number of exorcist families who are chasing after her... AU!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Unfortunately, I do not have the imagination to come up with something like Natsume Yuujin-cho on my own T_T. Woe is me. Not mine, if you didn't get that.

_Natsume Takako no Yuujincho_

_Chapter 1 - In which many questions are raised_

Everyone experiences it. That sensation of losing sight of why you're running, or what you're running from.

Natsume Takako, teenage girl, sixteen years of age, would have given _anything_ at that point in time to be able to experience that feeling.

"Reiko! Give it back… return it to me!" A grotesquely large, purple-skinned _something_ was chasing her. Pushing carelessly past the rough foliage around her, not caring if her hair got snagged in twigs or if the hemline of her skirt was getting increasingly frayed, she continued to flee from what could only be called a _youkai_. A spirit.

"…and you know, I really think I've got a chance this time!"

"Don't kid with me…!"

_Voices? Human? Or…?_

Bursting through the thick forest onto what seemed to be a main road, she knew what a mess she must look to the two high school boys. Glancing briefly at them, she recognised them vaguely from the sea of faces she had faced not two weeks ago at her latest transfer. Names, on the other hand, escaped her rather more easily than she would prefer.

"Er… hi! I'm Natsume – the transfer student." She smiled tentatively, glancing once in a while behind her. She could feel the spirit hesitate on the edge of the forest.

"Oh! Natsume… Takako-san, right? Are you okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"I'm fine, really!" This was bad… the spirit had started to pick up speed again. "Sorry to ask, but do you know of any shrines nearby? Anything will do."

"Shrines? There's an old abandoned one up that hill by there, but it's not much to look at…" The taller of the two gestured at the hill on the other side of the footpath, "See that entrance arch? It's right there."

"Thank you! See you in class tomorrow!" Natsume yelled, her mind racing and trying to calculate the probability of that spirit wanting to devour humans – even humans that couldn't see it.

"Hey… Nishimura? Who was that?"

"You really don't pay any attention, do you? She's the new transfer student that came at the beginning of the month. She's really pretty, but she doesn't talk much."

"Hmmm…?" Kitamoto stared up at the clear, endless blue sky, "I'll agree that she's cute, but what was she running like that for?" The next moment, he was forced to close his eyes to the dust cloud that was stirred up by the sudden gust of wind that followed the footsteps of his new mysterious classmate. "Geez… crazy weather we're having now…"

* * *

_Keep running… almost there… just keep going…_ Natsume was beginning to run out of breath, but she tried to comfort herself with the knowledge of the abandoned shrine. She wasn't normally so lucky to be able to find consecrated ground so easily. Then again, it was a rather mixed blessing: since moving to this area, it seemed that these… _things_ that nobody else could sense or see became more and more aggressive in nature. Perhaps it was because this was the first time that she had lived in such a rural area, a place where modern cities and their renovations had left behind in time, and where _youkai _still felt welcome and safe.

It was amazing what ran through a person's mind whilst they were in imminent danger of being eaten…

_Ten feet… seven… so close!_

Her elation came far too soon. Not five feet away from the steps leading up to the shrine, she felt a force slam into her, far too quickly for her to be able to react, pinning her to a tree not three feet away from safe ground. Damn. Even closer.

"Return it… give it back to me!" The giant Cyclops was crushing her windpipe. As oxygen-starved as her brain cells were, she still had the energy to waste on silent mockery: _if you would let up on my windpipe, you selfish spirit, then I might actually be able to figure out what the hell you want me to return to you!_ Of course, since she had no way of expressing her sentiments, she settled for trying her best to glare at the vast _youkai_ that had her pinned to a tree.

"Reiko… return it to me!"

_Reiko?_ Who was this Reiko that the monster wanted to pummel into an unrecognisable pulp?

_Oh boy_. Dark spots had started to appear in front of her eyes. It was a sure sign that she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen. Desperately, she tried to free herself from the giant hand that pinned her to the tree. Unfortunately, being all of fifty kilograms of adolescent human female, she found that she rather lacked the strength to physically force the _youkai_ to let her go. She did, however, draw the attention of the rather more humanoid figure with a fox's face.

"Better rip her tongue out, just to be safe. What if she decides to call your name out and destroy you?" Even in her hypoxic state, Natsume recognised the threat and, with one final bolt of strength she didn't know she had, she forced one of her legs into an unnatural angle, and willed her strength into her wildly aimed kicks.

The cry of pain and the jolt of force down her leg told her that one of her kicks had landed. She didn't know how, or why, but the power behind her kicks, whilst useless against a human opponent, were super-effective on all manners of _youkai_. One kick had the purple Cyclops reeling backwards, clutching its eye in pain, whilst the thin, humanoid fox-face cursed and made another grab for her legs. Without stopping for the spots to disappear from her vision, Natsume continued to run towards the temple building.

Experience had taught her that not every priest had been very meticulous in the blessing of temple grounds.

Finally making it onto consecrated earth, feeling the reassurance that so often came with the presence of blessed ground, Natsume allowed herself to collapse and breathe again. The return of oxygen made her feel as if she were among the living again, and slowly, vision began to return. When it did, she regretted it almost immediately, since the first thing she had to see was a broken binding-rope.

"Please just be for show, _please just be for show_…" She wasn't sure why she was praying – the gods that she had encountered up until now were either hostile or indifferent to her pleas, and had often ignored her prayers – but she did know that she did not have the energy at this point to run from something else. Something that was dangerous enough to be sealed away in a shrine.

"Brat, I should thank you for freeing my bonds." A deep, booming voice sounded from the small offering box next to her, "I was just beginning to become a little hungry."

Of course. Nothing could ever be that simple. Not when your name was Natsume Takako.

The rumbling she felt in the earth did not bode well for her – the rattling feeling she got in her bones shook every fibre of her being, and it all came from the direction of the small enclosure. Swearing, she scrambled towards the broken rope, desperately hoping to be able to mend the binding somehow.

The shrine doors burst open, sending a massive shockwave through the entire shrine. The feeling of safety that Natsume had always experienced in shrines fizzled out like a candle that had had its oxygen cut off. Looking up carefully, she tensed her muscles again in preparation for another sprint, wincing as her lactic acid-filled muscles screamed in protest. What kind of monster was coming out of that shrine? It had to be fearsome, for it to be enshrined like this…

As the smoke cleared, Natsume glanced around with confusion. After all that song and dance, there wasn't anything… very large to gawp at. Peering back into the small hut, she spotted a _maneki neko_, albeit without the traditional bell collar, and rather more podgy than a conventional shop-bought statue.

She couldn't help it. Natsume snorted. Quite loudly.

Another (tamer) explosion later, and she found herself pinned down by a very heavy, albeit concentrated mass over her chest. Colouring a little when she thought about the next-to-non-existence of her chest, she shoved as hard as she could against whatever was sitting on her.

"Oi! How dare you treat such a great entity such as myself with such roughness!"

The nasal, old-man voice directed Natsume's attention downwards. She blinked. Twice. The image of the formerly still _maneki-neko_ was talking. _Wow, I really should feel more surprise, but I can't quite bring myself to do it._

"Oh? Scared speechless, are we? Well, I hardly blame you… wait, you're Reiko, aren't you?" Now _that_ shocked Natsume somewhat. "What's with that stupid spaced-out expression? From the looks of it, you were chased around and messed up a bit too. What? Lost your strength already? Pathetic human…"

"Erm… I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not Natsume Reiko. She was my grandmother. On my mother's side." Natsume explained, her expression remaining unchanged in front of this impossibility (well, in the realm of the majority).

"Hmm? You're right, now that I look carefully, you look much shorter than she was. Your scent is duller as well, like something is masking it."

"It should be obvious anyway – it's been at least thrity years since my grandmother passed away. Even if she were alive, she wouldn't look anywhere near my age." Natsume frowned – she had been described as pixie-ish, scrawny and unattractive before, but never had she been compared to an old lady, much less one that she had never met.

"Oh. Natsume Reiko has passed away already? She must have looked like a hag by the time she kicked it?"

"I don't know. She died very young – I doubt that even my mother remembered her very well. I never met her, myself. She didn't leave any photographs behind, so I'll have to take your word for it that I look like her."

"I didn't say that you looked like her, human. It is only that you smell like her, although not quite as appetising." A glint came from the cat's gaze, "Did she leave you anything?"

"Huh? Well, yes – various things. Knick-knacks, mostly."

"Anything called 'The Book of Friends'?"

Frowning as she tried to recall images from the box she had only ever opened a handful of times in her sixteen years, Natsume admitted, "Maybe? I can't really remember… what do you need to know that for?"

But it was too late. In the next moment, the cat-like ball of existence disappeared in a rush of air, taking the last vestige of spirituality with it. The disappearance of the _youkai_ (for it could not have been anything else) seemed to leave the air around her empty in some way, as if just breathing the air was not satisfying enough to sustain her body. Sighing, she dragged herself onto her feet, and looked downwards to survey the damage she had done to her clothes.

The damage to her body was something she had learnt to live with.

The grass and dirt stains she had sustained were the worst of the lot. She knew there were a couple of grazes along her arm and her knees, but it wasn't anything that wouldn't heal up in a few days or so. She dreaded to think what her hair looked like by the stage – she really needed to start carrying a mirror around to check. Half heartedly trying to drag her fingers through the nest she called hair, she dragged a few more unsatisfying breaths of mundane air, and braced herself for the long walk back.

* * *

"Oh, Takako-chan! What happened?" Were the words she was greeted with. It was a rather novel experience for her to hear those words without exasperation underlying them, although the genuine concern behind Tohko-san's mannerisms. "Look at you! Are you hurt anywhere? How did this happen? Is someone being mean to you?"

"Oh, nothing of the sort! I just slipped and fell – I wanted to explore the area a bit and ended up falling down a fairly steep hill. I'm really sorry for worrying you. I'll mend my clothes right away…"

"Oh, don't be so silly, dear!" Tohko-san had already started to push her towards the stairs, a determined look in her eyes, "You go up and get cleaned up. Do you remember where the first aid kit is? I'll wash your uniform now before dinner, and it'll be ready for you tomorrow morning, if we hang it out for tonight. Oh, I do hope it won't rain… oh, before I forget, Takako-chan, I just got a massive watermelon from the Matsudas from the top of the hill. Make sure to come down after you get changed for a few slices, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you very much!"

Smiling softly, Natsume treaded lightly up the stairs, still listening to the soft worrying of the female half of the Fujiwara couple. It had been a little over two months since she had moved in – longer, at least, than her rather abrupt stay at some of her other relatives' houses. Being cursed with her eyes meant that she could often see things that others either could not or would not – she had learnt to distinguish the two early on in her life. Humans were not a race known for their embracing nature, nor their tolerance for difference.

No. It wasn't quite fair to pile all the blame onto her relatives – although some of them were so distant that the term was a bit of a stretch – after all, they opened their homes to her, took her in as their own, and all she seemed to do was attract these…_ things_. Some were relatively harmless, only observers, it seemed, but others were far more aggressive. Over time, it became commonplace for her to randomly hear whispers of 'I'll eat you!' from nearby bushes. She had never stayed to find out if they would actually carry through with their promise. She reckoned, if they were solid enough to push her over a bridge into the river, they could probably carry through with the promise of eating her as well.

After she had changed out of her uniform, and checked that the damage wasn't too bad (no rips, at least) Natsume entered her room (which was, by far, the largest room she had ever been allowed to stay in), and proceeded to search for the small box of family memorabilia that had been handed down to her from her mother. Dragging it out from the bottom of her sliding wardrobe, she began to drag things out of the old, just-this-side-of-rotting cardboard box. Between a few wads of what looked like _ofuda_ charms and what looked (worryingly) like a wooden rounders bat with more charms stuck to it that still resonated with residual power, there was a worn-out, faded-blue book. Pulling it out, she blew the dust off, revealing the rough calligraphy on its cover.

"_Yuujin-cho_? That thing was right – my grandmother did leave me a Book of Friends. An address book, maybe?" Wait a minute, what on earth would a _youkai_ want with an address book? Curiosity won over, and Natsume began to flick through the aged pages. At first, all that seemed to jump out were pictograms – nothing that made much sense. Soon though, she began to understand… or rather started to _see_… the names. _Hundreds? No, there must be thousands in here… names of youkai? _

The realisation hit her over the head like the rounders bat she had found in the box. Her grandmother had been able to see the _same things_ as she had! Did that mean that her mother could as well? No, that couldn't be possible – the stories she remembered others telling her about her mother painted her as a gentle soul – not abnormal at all, not even eccentric in any way. Then how was it that she had inherited this curse from her grandmother, Natsume Reiko?

"I see you've found it. The Book of Friends."

The croaky, old-man voice startled her out of her reverie. Whipping around so fast that she thought she must have given herself some neck injury, she came face-to-face with the animated _maneki-neko_ that she had inadvertently freed earlier that day.

"How…?"

"That is not something that should be in the hands of a human."

"What…?"

"Hand it OVER!" At this, the soft, pudgy face suddenly distorted, morphing into something hideously dangerous, and, although Natsume couldn't make out the exact details, but she could see the massive, SHARP teeth being bared at her.

She acted on instinct. Kicking out, she rolled over and grabbed the only weapon really available to her. The charm-covered rounders bat.

* * *

Downstairs, Fujiwara Tohko was humming a small tune, wandering what she should do for dinner that night. Rummaging through her fridge, she frowned at what was left. She had wanted to make some rice and few side dishes, but it looked like she was out of parsley – it seemed to be the only thing that didn't want to grow properly in her herb garden outside. Glancing at the clock, she decided to go to the local vegetable stall – they shouldn't close for another two hours, at least.

Continuing to hum, her happy mood restored, she grabbed her coat and her bag. Just as she was about to call Takako-chan (such a sweet child!) to ask her to watch the house for a while, she was startled by a loud crash from upstairs.

"Takako-chan! Are you alright?"

A few shuffles, something that sounded like a scramble and her charge's face appeared over the stairs. "Yes, ma'am! Sorry for worrying you again! Are you going out?"

"Yes, dear – just for some groceries. You'll be alright on your own, won't you?"

"Yes, I'll be sure to look after the house for you. Have a safe trip!"

"I'll be back soon!"

Such a sweet child, if a little distant and polite, but so clumsy! "She must be going through a bit of a growth spurt. Oh dear, I should get a few more things if she's growing now!" Fujiwara Tohko went on her way, thinking of what else she should cook for dinner.

Re-entering her room, Natsume breathed out in absolute relief. Glaring at the source of her problem, she went back downstairs to find a plate with five watermelon slices on it. Glancing around for a smaller plateful, and failing, she grabbed it and returned upstairs to a grumpy-looking cat that was sporting a rather large bump on the head. Shoving her unwelcome guest out of the way, she began to patch up the paper screen that the _maneki-neko_ had battled with. Personally, Natsume reckoned that the screen door had won.

"Eat that and get out."

"How cold! You dare to be so rude to this great demon…?"

"Considering the fact that I'm actually feeding you, even after you destroyed my room and tried to eat me, be glad that all I did was hit you over the head." Grabbing the first aid bag again, she searched for a coolant band the size of the cat's head, hoping that it would do some good, "Do _youkai_ get infections from cuts? Do you want any disinfectant?"

"You… you're treating me?"

"Of course. It seems that the bat I used on you did more damage than I actually intended. I just wanted you to get out of the house." Startling a little at the softness of the seemingly ceramic fur, she continued to clean the tiny wound. "You said something about the Book of Friends? Why do you want it?"

"Like I would tell you, unworthy human!"

"Fine. I'll just go ahead and recycle it, if it's that unimportant…"

"Don't you dare! You have no idea what you'd be doing!"

"Well, unless you tell me of the significance, I have no way of knowing, do I?"

"Fine, ignorant human… ow!" The _maneki neko_ rubbed the new sore spot that had appeared on its head, "What was that for?"

"Every insult earns you another well-deserved bump. You have been warned, Nyanko-chan." Natsume replied detachedly, fighting to keep a smirk off her face.

"I am not a cat!"

"I call them as I see them."

"How dare you insult the greatness that is I! Puny brat… ow!"

"Either your hearing isn't very good, or I need to put a bit more power behind these bumps on your head, Nyanko-chan."

"You should at least bow your head to me and greet me as '_sensei'_, seeing as I will have to educate you in our world and ways." The _maneki neko_ conceded, knowing when he was beaten.

"Okay, Nyanko-sensei. But I honestly don't think that educating me is going to make much of a difference in whether or not I hand this thing over to you."

"Hmph! Your ignorance coupled with your power is inexcusable, as well as highly dangerous. How you've managed to get this far along without getting killed or eaten is beyond me. You want to know about the Book of Friends?" A tentative nod. "Then we best begin with Natsume Reiko."

"My grandmother? She could see the same things as me, right?"

"Indeed. Even for a human, she was a very beautiful specimen. Note, of course, that we judge by spirit, rather than by appearances. It's part of the reason why I mistook you for her at the beginning – the taste of your spiritual power is very similar.

"Of course, with great power comes separation from normal human society. We are far gone from the era when most humans could still see us, and those who could not would acknowledge us to explain the inexplicable. Because Reiko could see us, she became someone who treaded the border between humans and spirits without knowing who she really belonged with."

"So… my grandmother was a human, when all was said and done?"

"Yes. As much as her power tasted like one of ours, she was irrevocably human, and thus never entirely welcome in our world. It was that isolation, perhaps, that drove her to make the Book of Friends."

Takako glanced down at the book, resting so innocently upon her lap. She didn't know why, but the pages seemed to be whispering to her, some of them benevolently, some with malicious intent, whilst most was with indifference. What stories lay behind those names?

"A name, a True Name, is not one to be lightly handed over, nor lightly spoken. What you hold there is a Book filled to the brim with the True Names of thousands of _youkai_, and some are significantly more powerful than others. The Book allows you total command of all these spirits, whether willing or not."

"How… how did my grandmother come to own this Book? If, like you said, a True Name is something to be held onto?"

"How do you think? She would issue challenges. Sometimes as much as ten times a day, to _youkai_ who either caught her interest, or looked powerful enough to be a fun challenge. The prize for them if she lost would be whatever they demanded, and her prize was always the same: she demanded that they sign their true names on a piece of paper, and it eventually accumulated to _that_."

Natsume Takako stared at the book in front of her. _This_ was the inheritance that her grandmother had left her? It was grand, to be sure, but it was more than just a little creepy. Although it was a chance to pay back as good as she got for twelve years' worth of bullying, she knew that it was _wrong_ to hold that much power over anyone. Or anything, for that matter.

"So. I assume that that's why you want this book?"

"Of course! It's far too dangerous to be in the hands of someone who doesn't even know how to call forth its abilities!"

"And I think that it's far _more_ dangerous in hands such as yours, who know exactly how to use it. I'll be keeping it in a box, until I can figure out what to do with it."

"What? Stupid human child… ow!"

Well, the cat had to learn eventually.

"Excuse me? Is anyone home?"

The sound of a visitor startled Natsume out of her annoyance at the stubbornness of her decidedly _unwelcome_ guest and forced a 'Yes, coming!' from her mouth, more out of habit than anything else. The voice certainly wasn't Tohko-san's.

"Be careful. If you really decide to take the Book of Friends for yourself, it comes with more danger than you are prepared for. Not all spirits who seek the Book are as benevolent as I am."

Natsume snorted disbelievingly. If there was one word she had never associated with her meetings with _youkai_, it would be 'benevolence'.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, be just a second!"

"You're in danger, you know."

Shaking herself out of her staring contest with the cat (and when had that started?) Takako hurried downstairs to open the door, before pausing. This presence… it was definitely not human. The silky, oily voice was familiar, although not entirely recognisable. Cautiously, she slid the door open, revealing the fox _youkai_ that had suggested for her tongue to be ripped out not two hours earlier.

"Ah, good. Now, if you would be so kind as to hand over the Book of Friends, I'll make eating you a far less painful experience."

Natsume didn't need any further encouragement. She slammed the door shut, not bothering to lock it, and ran back up the stairs as fast as she could. Grabbing the Book (was having command over an army really _that_ desirable?) and the cat that had attached itself to the Book (and thus to her), she tried to take the conventional way out.

* * *

If you asked her later, Natsume would try and excuse her foolishness by saying that it really_ had_ been a long day, what with two attempts at her life, and learning that she had inherited her burden from her grandmother, who had, coincidentally, amassed what was effectively a demon army and then dumped the key to it all in Takako's hands. She really shouldn't be blamed for how she had stupidly thought that the stairs would still be free from spirits.

* * *

Twisting around with more force than was healthy on her spine, she barely managed to avoid the massive purple claw that came at her from the bottom of the stairs. Scrambling back up the stairs, she dashed to her room again, and slammed the screen door shut, breathing heavily.

"See? I told you that not all spirits were as benevolent as I am."

"Nyanko-sensei, do me a favour? Shut up?"

"Have you at least warded your door?"

"… How do I do that?"

The incredulous look on her new 'sensei's' face was all she managed to get a look at before the screen door became blown open, and a single eyeball glaring at her.

"Reiko… why won't you give it back…?"

Takako didn't bother to stick around for the continuation. Keeping a tight grip on the Book that seemed to be the root of all her current problems, she leapt across the room in four leaps, and threw herself out of the window.

It was sad to admit, but she had long developed some immunity to high jumps – sometimes, it was the fastest route out of a place where a spirit was threatening slow digestion. Luckily, the Fujiwara household was built on a plot of uneven ground that meant that the roof at the back of the house, where Natsume's room was, was about a metre closer to the ground than the roof in front. It meant a less nerve-wracking drop.

"You fool! You can command the wind sprites but can't even do the simplest wards? It's like you're doing everything in reverse, simpleton!"

"Sensei? You're still there?"

"Of course. That Book is mine when you die, and I'm going to be the one who eats you, no one else."

"When did we agree on my will?"

_Youkai_ logic. Not something she expected to become acquainted with.

The fox-like spirit was, unfortunately much smarter than the purple, one-eyed monster, and had anticipated her alternative means of exiting the house. Twisting to avoid crossing paths with the fox-eyed _youkai_, Takako was rather shocked when the pig-cat swerved to keep up with her. Unconsciously, her hands tightened around the Book once again, holding it as close to her as possible.

"Nyanko-sensei, is that what the purple demon is asking me to return for her? Her name?"

"More than likely. I cannot imagine what else such an _ayakashi_ would want with you."

"How do I return it?"

The resulting exclamation from the cat drove Takako to seek further shelter elsewhere, as the disbelieving yell made their position in the forest quite clear.

"You… you idiotic child of man! You… you don't even know how to form a simple ward, and yet you want to _return a name_? Why would you even want to do that? Why would you return power to one who would use it against you?"

"I… I don't know. Is this even the time to be philosophical? Just tell me if it's possible or not!"

"You're right. This is the time to be sensible. And, as you have seen, the most sensible thing to do is to get rid of that thing there." The cat morphed again, smoke billowing out from its smaller form, and proceeded to pin Natsume to the ground, and slowly began to increase the pressure on her chest, "So why don't you just hand it over now and stay in your safe little bubble, human child? It's not like you can do anything anyway, with that pitiful human shell…"

Inside her, Takako felt something _else_ breaking in her navel. Well, crumbling, rather than breaking. Struggling for breath now, she forced one arm free of the giant paw that seemed intent on crushing her ribcage, and mustered her remaining strength,

"Let go, you pig-cat!" And, with that, she socked him one on the nose.

The impact was enough to knock the paw off her, allowing sweet, sweet oxygen back into her lungs, and a puff of smoke later, the _youkai_ was back in its _maneki neko_ form, nursing its nose.

"You… you hit me!"

"Nyanko-sensei, I've hit you at least three times since we first met, and you chose _now_ to be surprised? And I thought I was slow…" Gripping the Book of Friends even tighter than before, keeping her body as a shield between it and the _youkai_ who desired it, she asked again, "How do I give back a name?"

The cat became oddly silent. For a longer period of time than she had experienced since making its acquaintance. Finally, the strange creature nodded to itself, as if it had come to some kind of a decision, and answered her question.

* * *

_I was acquainted with Reiko, your grandmother, when she was around your age. Since I was the one who taught her about true names and how to bind _ayakashi_, she said that she wouldn't try and steal my name. Nonetheless, she also told me later on how to release those she defeated and commanded from their contract._

_You must first find the _ayakashi_ in question, and find their name. Hold the book, calm your mind, and command the name to reveal itself to you…_

Continuing at a hasty run, knowing that she had to time this accordingly unless she wanted to be eaten, Takako let the book fall open within her hands, and did as Nyanko-sensei had bade her do,

"_Ye who calls thyself my guardian,_

_Reveal thyself to me!"_

The book gave a shudder, as if it were shaking off a long sleep, and grudgingly began to turn its pages.

_Next, you need Natsume Reiko's breath and saliva – tear the page out, CAREFULLY, mind – and hold your hands together, and recite the incantation…_

There! One page stood to attention, apart from the other pages of the book. Being careful not to touch the part of the paper with the name inked in, Natsume Takako ripped the page free from the bindings, and placed the paper between her lips,

"_This is thy name. Accept it, Hishigaki_."

And breathed out, slowly, evenly.

Even as she did so, she felt the crumbling that had started in her navel earlier overtake her entire body, and _shattered_ rather than crumbled, shaking her very core. _I'm falling. Oh dear._ Her last thoughts as the ground came ever closer to her.

* * *

_I'm so hungry…_

_So lonely…_

_For so long…_

_The offerings stopped so long ago… but still I cannot bring myself to eat humans…_

"_Hey, you there! You're hungry, you say? Tell you what, I'll give you these sweet dumplings, if you win against me. If you lose, then you have to become my underling. That sound like a deal?"_

"_What?" Ow! That had definitely hurt… even more than the hunger._

"_Right then, that's another point for me… now write your name down!"_

"_This hardly seems fair…"_

"_A duel is a duel, no matter if it's one-sided or not. Now stop complaining and write it down!"_

_The human (girl?) was smiling. A smile that didn't quite touch her eyes. And her face didn't seem… quite right. Hishigaki may not have observed humans very often, but she was sure that they shouldn't have so many purple and red blotches on their faces. Reaching over to touch one of the marks gently, she asked, "Does it hurt?"_

"_Oh, these? Don't worry about it. Some of the neighbourhood kids were throwing stones. I didn't have anything on me to deflect them." Before Hishigaki could ask more, the human girl had snatched her name, and placed it roughly in between two thicker pieces of parchment. "You've got a lovely name, Hishigaki. Better than mine, anyway. My name is Reiko. Natsume Reiko. If I call for you, you'd better come quickly!"_

_When will she call me?_

_Seasons come and go._

_When will she call?_

_Another spring. Another summer. More autumns. Another winter._

_Why don't you call me?_

_The loneliness. It was unbearable before. Now it's crushing._

_If you won't call me… then why did you take my name in the first place?!_

_So painful… so much more painful… return it… RETURN IT!_

* * *

Takako gasped as she returned to consciousness. She felt, rather than saw, a giant fur-covered paw supporting her weight off the ground. Bringing her eyes up to meet the demon's, she felt tear trails down her face, as she came out of the memories of Hishigaki.

"Reiko? Are you… alright now?"

"I'm sorry, Hishigaki, I'm not Reiko. I'm her granddaughter." Takako smiled, the gentle concern rolling off the _ayakashi_ touching her somewhere deep, making the tears well up even more. "But I don't think she was ever really lonely. Not when there was someone so kind looking out for her."

"Will you… be alright?"

"Yes." Glancing behind her, she felt the reassuring presence of Nyanko-sensei in the form a giant, white-furred beast that definitely _wasn't _a cat. "I think I will."

A gentle hand came to rest upon her cheek, wiping away the tears that had made a road down her face. "Do not cry, child. I will return."

"I know. But I don't know if I will be here when you do."

Hishigaki chose not to reply to this last statement, but Takako knew that she had heard it. It was the painful truth. It was not meant for a human and an _ayakashi_ to walk within the same time, and a single lifetime of a human was akin to an afternoon nap for the unearthly. It was more than likely that this was the only time the two of them would meet in this lifetime.

But, Takako thought as she watched Hishigaki ascend into the air to travel away from the village of humans, it didn't mean that they hadn't become friends. Nor did it mean that Takako could not go searching for Hishigaki someday.

"Goodbye, Hishigaki. Goodbye, gentle friend of my grandmother's."

* * *

"Hey, sensei, what happened to the fox that was chasing after the Book of Friends? He kind of disappeared in the whole frenzy."

Having snuck back into the house, Takako had proceeded to change again to hide the scuff marks she had managed to get on her jeans, and the _maneki neko_ had helped itself to another three slices of the watermelon, and had been staring at the final piece, as if it was debating whether or not the tummy-ache would be worth it. Takako decided to be nice and eat the final slice herself, so that the cat would stop arguing with itself.

"Hmph! You should have asked much earlier! Your wonderful sensei chased it off whilst you were swooning like an idiot – I drained quite a bit of its power, so it won't be able to come after you for a while now."

"Hmmm… I guess you're not quite as useless as you look."

"What? What did you just… and after I helped you as well!" The cat silenced itself again, and seemed to shift its demeanor towards formality with great rapidity. "Tell me, Natsume. Why did you want to return the name?"

"Er… well…"

"You had power over that Hishigaki. You didn't have to give that power up. If you had commanded her to, she would have torn her own eye out. Why did you give that power up?"

"I… because it's the right thing to do? Even if you ask, I don't think I can give you an answer…"

"You don't want revenge for years of mistreatment you suffered at the hands of our kind?"

Natsume paused. She couldn't say that she hadn't been tempted. In fact, the cruelty she had suffered through her childhood as a result of simply being able to _see_ had been traumatic enough to still give her nightmares. Nevertheless…

"Then I'd have to give the same treatment to humans as I do _youkai_ – and I don't think that I have the power to make humans do my bidding at all." She said slowly, chewing over her response. It was difficult to explain, the desire within her to do something right, something _for_ someone, rather than something easy. "Or we could blame it on my twisted personality?"

"Well, whatever. I don't care why you're doing this, but your stumbling around is annoying me! How can you know how to call on air sprites but not how to do seals? From now on, you're Backward Natsume! You won't be Natsume again until you learn all the things you can from me! You are now _Sakasama_, you idiot!"

Five seconds later, Nyanko-sensei sported another bump on the head, and Takako had gone downstairs for dinner. Pausing before she exited the room entirely, she turned back to face her new sensei, and pointed out,

"It would be a lot easier for you to eat me if I remained uneducated, Nyanko-sensei. So who's the idiot now?"

Nyanko-sensei watched as his new student went out of the room, and allowed himself to reminisce about his last student, who had said almost exactly the same thing.

_Reiko… you died far younger than I expected. Not even fifty years have passed. How disappointing, that you did not show me how far you have come._ The _youkai_ heard the quiet murmurings downstairs, the gentleness of the latest humans who had taken Reiko's granddaughter in. _No matter – I'll repeat the experiment I did on you on your granddaughter. And I'll stay by her side until the experiment has been completed._

_But still, Reiko… how did you put a seal on your granddaughter when the two of you had never even met…?_

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

Well, that's the first chapter! Depending on the review response, I'll consider pulling a couple of hours sleep out from my normal routine to finish Chapter 2 faster ^_^.

I decided to make this fiction include a bit more of the human interactions Natsume has to deal with, although our favourite _youkai_ characters will be making several guest appearances. As for making Natsume a girl? Well, I think that if he were one in the original story, he would have approached some problems a little differently, and his relationships with friends would certainly change. Okay, that wasn't really the reason - it's just that I am a girl, and making Natsume a girl makes it so much easier on me as the writer. It's actually surprisingly exhausting trying to write from the point of view of a man ^_^'.

Anyways... hope you enjoyed my attempt at a gender-bend piece! Love it? Hate it? Any pointers? Only... no flamers, please!

Thank you!

Fiametta xxx


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine. You've got no idea how much it rends me to admit that.

* * *

**C****hapter 2 - In which Takako is still alone**

The seasons were beginning to show signs of turning as the remaining cherry blossoms fell from the school trees. The formal winter-uniforms that they had started the year wearing had slowly converted into the lighter summer uniform of a short-sleeved white shirt and blue tie, with the usual mid-length skirt and black shoes.

Natsume was enjoying the relative calm that came with the shifting of the seasons – the comfortable warmth meant that she could doze a little at her window seat, letting the breeze tease the hair that stubbornly refused to stay tied in her pigtails. For the last month, whilst she hadn't really made any friends, she hadn't done anything to alienate herself from the rest of the class, which was a definite improvement on some of her previous records. After all, she didn't want the Fujiwara couple to be troubled by any school reports of strange behaviour.

Since she had been little, things that could only be called _ayakashi_ would plague her for only being able to see them, and the more malevolent would often be heard muttering about wanting to eat her. That wouldn't have been quite so bad, perhaps, if other people could see what she saw – after all, when a person jumped and screamed with astounding frequency for no apparent reason, it would be considered 'creepy'. Talking to thin air was also a pretty good method of isolating yourself from your peers. If that wasn't enough, then the random explosions that the more violent _youkai_ would cause would definitely be enough to label her as 'Avoid At All Costs'.

School, up until now, had been synonymous with isolation for Takako Natsume.

"Hey, Natsume! Natsume! Quit dozing – you've got a guest from next door." She blinked away the sleep in her eyes, and raised her pale-brown eyes to regard her classmate, Nishimura.

"Hm? Where?"

"Huh? I could have sworn he was… ah, well. It was a guy from class B – he's kind of like you, actually. You both blend into the background, you're so quiet all the time…"

"Oh. Er… sorry about that."

"What? No, no, I wasn't criticising – it's just your nature, right? Nothing bad about it. At least you're not like Kitamoto, who never shuts up."

At this point, Kitamoto, the taller of the duo, passed by, and slapped Nishimura across the head in such a natural way that Natsume couldn't help the small snort that managed to escape from her.

"And who exactly never shuts up? Pot, I believe that you have yet to meet my friend, kettle."

"Hey! That hurt, idiot!"

"Oh good – it was meant to."

"You're just jealous that I'm talking to a pretty girl and you're not, Kitamoto!"

"In your dreams, Nishimura, in your dreams."

At this point, Natsume could feel a slight blush scattering across her face, and let a smile creep its way onto her face. The muscular contortion that was needed for the expression was still unfamiliar to her, and felt really rather unnatural on her face. Hearing the warning bell that signalled the beginning of the afternoon period, she grabbed her Japanese Literature textbook and workbook, getting ready for the next two hours.

"Come on, you two miscreants, leave the new girl alone. Just because she doesn't know what clowns the two of you are, doesn't mean that you should take advantage." Sasada, the class captain, grabbed both of the boys by their collars, "Get back to your seats."

"Captain, you meanie!"

"Exactly! Why must you bully us so? Is it because we're flirting with Natsume-chan here instead of you? You don't have to be so jeal… Ow!" For the second time in so many minutes, Nishimura got slapped across the head again. This time, he only directed a sullen look at the class captain before settling down at his seat, sticking his tongue out at the girls.

_Now if only Nyanko-sensei could learn half as fast as Nishimura-san…_

* * *

Halfway through the droning class, where Natsume was having problems keeping awake despite having had a decent amount of sleep the previous night, her smokey-topaz irises sharpened slightly at the movement outside her window seat. Shifting her line of vision to see what was trying to get her attention this time, she was greeted with a truly terrifying sight.

A kimono-clad, skeletal body that wound around the window frame like a snake. Claws, in place of hands. Nothing more than a head of water-drenched, long black hair to frame the absent face… or rather, the absent _head_ of something that could only be identified as…

"Kya!"

Such was the force that Natsume used to push her chair away from the window, that she managed to not only scream out, but she managed to topple the chair over, right into the path of the classical literature teacher.

"Natsume-san, I know that you're not used to the lessons and teachers here yet, but you know, I didn't think we were so Spartan that you felt the need to do something so dramatic." Natsume could feel very clearly that blood was rushing to her cheeks, and it had nothing to do with how she was now practically lying on the classroom floor. "Try to last for the next hour, okay?"

Giggles littered the classroom. Natsume's face became even warmer.

"Thank the gods that that's over with!"

"I think there's finally someone here who feels that more strongly than you do, Nishimura." Kitamoto nodded towards Natsume, whose face still hadn't cooled down from the embarrassed flush colouring her face, "What happened there, Natsume-san? The only time anyone screams that loudly in this class is when Nishimura finishes a pop-quiz."

"Kitamoto, you bast…"

"Ah, it wasn't anything that bad. I was just feeling a little faint, and started to fall off my chair and couldn't stop myself. Sorry for causing trouble…"

"Natsume-san, don't feel the need to apologise to anybody here. Satou-sensei is a great lover of books, but even I think his lessons could use a little more livening up. Here! A present for giving us a break from Satou-sensei's droning." Sasada slid a clipboard in front of Natsume's vision, "Sign, please!"

"Er… what is this, exactly?" Ever since she had come into the inheritance of the Book of Friends from her grandmother, Natsume Reiko, she had become a little cautious of freely handing out her name, whether to humans or those who were not human.

"A bravery trial! When it's summer, we really should do something like this, right? We were planning on getting the entire A class together and anyone from class B who wants to come along, and we can go through the old school building at night."

"Oh. But… wouldn't we need permission to go in? The old building's due for demolition soon, isn't it?"

"Oh, I've already got permission from our homeroom-sensei. See, children? This is one of the many advantages that being reliable will get you. You should try it." That last part was directed towards the two boys who were now clowning around since the two girls had stopped paying attention to them.

"But then we'd all be class captain, Sasada! Then what fun would you have when you wouldn't be able to abuse your power?"

Natsume smiled brightly, again. She suddenly realised, as she exercised stiff muscles again, that she had never smiled quite as much as this before arriving at this sleepy little village.

"Natsume-dono… the Book of Friends…"

The smile was now being forced. Then again, she had never seemed to have quite as much trouble with _ayakashi_ before she entered this village either.

"Here you go, Sasada. Sorry, got to run!"

Signing the paper with haste, Natsume grabbed her bag, forgot her homework in her hurry, and immediately accelerated out of the classroom and the school building, willing the _ayakashi_ to chase after her. The frightening creature that she saw earlier had finally managed to buck up the courage, apparently, to approach a place that was crowded by humans.

* * *

_That's it – I really need to listen to Nyanko-sensei's lessons on warding from now on instead of falling asleep, and then ward the classroom so that I can at least have an uninterrupted few hours a day!_

Natsume found herself running once again. She really did think that, if it were not for the masses of _ayakashi_ and _youkai_ chasing after her day after day, she could easily join the athletics team for running. Gods know that she did enough of it every single day. This time, however, she wasn't totally unprepared.

"Take this, you menace!" She snatched an old fan from inside her school bag, and put all her power into whacking the wooden fan into the body of the _ayakashi_.

"Ow! What did you do that for, you meanie?"

… What on earth?

"Er… pardon me?"

"Why did you hit me? I just came to ask if you'd return a friend's name… you really are just as scary and cruel as rumours go!"

Oops. Misunderstanding.

"I am so, _so_ sorry! You… you were… at the window… and you…" Shoot. There wasn't a way to make 'your face scared me' sound less insulting, "Just lead me to your friend. I'll return the name and apologise then. I shouldn't have… reacted like that."

Over the last month since Takako had received her grandmother's legacy, the Book of Friends (essentially the address book of her own private demon army), she had been returning the Names of whatever spirits she came across who wanted them back. Following the _ayakashi_ out of school, trying to act as normal as possible, she kept a hand over her school bag, where the Book was hidden under her schoolwork and lunchbox. Again, she heard the croaking voice of her sensei (who, for unknown reasons, decided to stay in his _maneki neko_ form), berating her for the meagre security she had provided for the Book.

_Ignorant brat! What would happen if the Book of Friends was stolen? Remember that I get that when you get eaten, so don't you dare let it go to the hands of some lesser being!_

Just thinking about that particular conversation was enough to evoke a sigh from Takako. Nyanko-sensei was sort of right – she had decided to return the Names of those who wanted them back. She could hardly afford to be eaten or have the Book stolen before she had managed to achieve even a fraction of what she set out to do.

"Natsume-dono? Is something wrong?"

Jumping a little, Takako looked again at the spirit that she had been following towards the forest. Realising that the situation might not be the smartest one to go through with, she turned to the terrifying, strangely polite _ayakashi_ and asked sheepishly, "Sorry, if it's alright with you, I'd rather return a name somewhere where there's a futon. Could you ask your friend to come to me this evening, a bit before midnight?"

"Do you not trust us, Natsume-dono?"

"I apologise for my rudeness, especially after what I did to you." The unspoken 'no' resounded awkwardly between human and spirit, causing Takako to tense up again, readying herself for another sprint for safety. In the end, however, it turned out to be unnecessary.

"Very well. I shall inform my friend of your request. Another half-day is nothing for him, anyway."

"Thank you."

"And do not bother with the apologies – it is no less than what I expected from such a young human, even one who owns the Book of Friends."

* * *

The accusation echoed with her as she walked back to the Fujiwara's. Logically speaking, it was only sensible to run from those that could not be called 'human', especially considering that most of them fell into either 'indifferent' or 'wants to eat me' categories until recently. She really shouldn't feel very upset at what the spirit had said about her.

And yet, that was exactly what was happening.

"Why the long face, _sakasama_ Natsume?" Nyanko-sensei, who had made himself really rather at home in her room, was playing with a ball of yarn that Tohko-san had given her when she found out Natsume had asked for permission to keep the cat.

"No, just something that an _ayakashi_ said to me earlier. It's bothering me, that's all."

"Oh, is that all? Hey, when did you meet another spirit today? Don't tell me you returned another Name! Shoot… my Book…"

"Be quiet, Sensei – and it's not yours yet."

"So? What did they say? It's rare for you to actually speak with a spirit about anything other than the Book. Did you manage to get a Name, for a change?"

"You're mistaking me with my grandmother again, Sensei. No, it just made me feel a little… embarrassed, I guess. Am I really that paranoid about spirits, Sensei?"

There was no reply this time from the ceramic cat. Instead, Natsume felt a heavy weight on her lap, and a second later she felt a surprisingly firm grip on her chin, pulling her line of sight downwards to face the pudgy face of her self-appointed 'bodyguard' and teacher. Taking a surprised intake of breath, Takako immediately choked,

"Sensei! You stink of alcohol! Get off!"

"Shut up, brat! Just because you're underage and have no taste, doesn't mean I have to sacrifice the joys of middle-aged life for you! Now listen!" The cat forced her to look him in the eyes, holding her gaze until she settled down again, "Your paranoia is probably the only thing that has kept you alive until now. To trust and follow a spirit without thinking it over will get you into all sorts of trouble, from getting eaten to being spirited away. Forget whatever that low-level spirit said to you to get you thinking along these lines. Keep your paranoia."

Takako was startled – for once, the _maneki neko_ was saying something profound and useful. It was really rather disconcerting.

"Now that your moment of pathetic self-doubt is over, lead the way to dinner! It's omu-rice tonight, Natsume! Make sure I get my fair share!"

"You mean nothing? Sure, I'll get right on that, you obese feline." Natsume retorted, glad to have her bad-mouthing, abrasive sensei back.

It didn't mean that she could forget how bad she had felt when she had refused to trust an _ayakashi_ based almost solely upon appearance.

* * *

"Natsume-sama? I have come as you requested."

The frightening spirit's friend was far less intimidating. Admittedly, the presence of human-looking limbs helped, and the mask that concealed its identity from unfriendly spirits at least gave the illusion of a face, although the croaky voice that sounded far too much like a frog's call and the webbing between the fingers served as a reminder that they were decidedly _not_ human. As promised, it was a little before midnight, when the moon had shone to its full potential, and both _ayakashi_ were waiting outside her window.

"Please, come in. Make yourselves comfortable."

She brought out the Book of Friends again, and allowed it to fall open within her hands, whispering into the night,

"_Ye who calls thyself my guardian,_

_Reveal thyself to me!"_

The Book shivered, and began to flip page by page, gaining speed until at last, only one page remained upright, which Natsume gingerly took, and carefully tugged it free of its bindings to the Book.

_"This is thy name. Accept it, Hoshikari!"_

The characters written on the paper seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they returned to their owner. As she blew the Name back to its original owner, she felt a part of her own energy follow after it, making her glad that she was still sitting. Although she was becoming better at the whole procedure now, and had stopped fainting right away, returning a Name still took enough out of her that she wouldn't have been able to run fast enough to save herself if any spirit decided to attack her after she returned their Names. It was part of the reason why Nyanko-sensei always insisted on accompanying her on these occasions, she thought.

Although, she was also very sure that he only insisted upon being present so that nobody else would be able to eat her whilst she was so exposed. At any rate, after his one-and-a-half portion of omu-rice (she had had a little left over on her own plate, which she had sneaked onto his plate) the fat pig-cat was now contentedly snoring away in the basket she had found and converted into a bed for the strange spirit.

From experience, she knew that it would now take an army to wake the lazy so-called guardian. Or more food. Or alcohol.

"Thank you, Natsume-dono. And, I must apologise to you."

Surprised out of her reverie, Takako raised her gaze to see both _ayakashi_ bowing before her. A little flustered, since nobody had ever prostrated themselves before her, she hurriedly grabbed their kimono sleeves, trying to physically tug them upwards,

"What are you doing? Get up! What's there to be sorry about?"

She found out about a second later when two ice-cold hands clamped down on her wrists, tightening enough to be slightly painful.

"For this, Natsume-dono."

And, in a flurry of cloth and hair and confusion, she found herself sky-bound, her hands bound behind her and her eyes effectively blinded by the kimono sleeve covering her eyes. Taking a breath, she didn't even manage one scream of "Nyanko-sensei!" before her mouth was also covered, and she was taken, struggling, into the night.

When she regained her footing and her breath on the ground again, the first thing she decided to do was aim a kick at the two kidnappers. With her arms still bound, however, it meant that she lost her balance completely, causing her to crash into the ground again. She was satisfied to hear the cries of pain that her kicks caused for the two spirits. Scrambling to sit up properly and get a bearing of her surroundings, Takako glared at her kidnappers, before shrinking back cautiously as she caught sight of more and more figures that were being illuminated by the haunting moonlight.

"Wh… what do you want?" She was fully expecting to hear 'let us eat you' or 'give us the Book of Friends' at any moment now.

"Natsume-sama, please excuse our rudeness to you, but we beg of you! Save us!"

Well. That certainly wasn't what she expected.

"Strange way to treat someone you want to be your saviour. Untie me."

"Not until you hear us through, Natsume-sama."

"Where am I?"

Two figures stepped forward from the growing crowd. A Cyclops and a Bull-head, who seemed to command the most power amongst the ragged band of _ayakashi_ who were coming into the open now. The spokespeople, obviously.

"The Yatsuhara Fields. A lot of spirits have made their homes in these fields because humans have not visited this place for so long. But, recently, the Temple nearby has been inhabited again by a human who is trying to kill us! Please, Natsume-sama, lend us your power!"

"A human? Who can see you?" Despite the situation, Takako felt some excitement at the prospect of someone who could see the same things she saw, understood what she had to live through.

"Of course! We want you to eliminate them, so that we can continue to live on here in peace. We have tried to send a mediator to that hateful human who has moved into the Temple, but our emissary was sent back so singed that she still cannot gather enough power to assume her original form!"

She raised her eyebrows at that, as the _ayakashi_ who had so frightened her before released the binding on her arms. "Yes, Natsume-dono. It was I who tried to speak to the human. However, before I even came into his presence, he sent a purifying wave throughout our home. This is why I hate humans – they never listen, only look, and most of them can't even do that properly!" The venom dripping from her voice took Takako by surprise.

"So? Why the need for kidnapping if all you were going to do was to ask me for a favour? You could have asked normally without tying me up and throwing me over your shoulder like a sack of flour."

"When you reacted so negatively to our messenger, we thought that you wouldn't willingly come to us. And so, the honourable Hoshikari-sama offered to help in bringing you to us, so that you would listen to our request."

Natsume fell silent again, straightened her pyjamas hurriedly, and assumed an apologetic bowing position towards the _ayakashi_ who had yet to give her Name, who had kidnapped her, "Please, allow me to apologise for my hasty conclusions this afternoon. It was wrong of me to be so suspicious of you based on your appearance alone. Please, accept my apology."

Silence weighed heavily on the field's occupants as Takako bowed her head towards the spirits, knowing that she was exposing herself to any and all attacks that might come her way. Slowly, the skeletal kimono-clad spirit Takako was bowing to also inclined her head, acknowledging the human child's regret.

"My name is Shinmichi. I would be honoured for you to call me by my Name."

And so, Natsume made another bond with the world of spirits, under the quiet summer moonlight.

* * *

"Seriously, though – I can't 'eliminate' a human being, so please, don't ask me to do such a thing."

The situation had diffused quite a bit, and Natsume was now sitting as one of a large circle formed by various _ayakashi_, politely declining any food or drink that came her way. One of the things that had stuck with her throughout Nyanko-sensei's rants was that partaking of any sustenance a spirit offered you usually ended with miserable consequences. Plus, having had a whiff of the liquid that was being passed around the circle, Takako reckoned that she knew where her Sensei would disappear off to every so often, only to come back reeking of _sake_.

"But… Natsume-sama, you have allied yourself with our emissary! Shinmichi has even shared her Name with you! Surely…" The talkative (and slightly tipsy, if the number of cups he had gone through was any indication) Cyclops exclaimed, waving his arms about. The ox-headed spirit followed suit, echoing his friend's sentiments (as well as last words, which seemed to be a rather odd habit the two had).

"Look, I'm not sure how things work in your world, but in the human world, someone going missing is kind of a massive deal! It's not something that would be easily dismissed as an accident." Seeing the kicked-puppy looks in the comedic-duo's faces, she steeled her heart as she said, "Look, I'm really sorry, but there's no way for me to get rid of a human. I doubt that he'd listen to a kid, and if he's really so aggressive that he shoots first and asks questions never, I can only suggest that the path of least resistance would be to move from the Yatsuhara Fields."

Clamouring protests ensued, causing Natsume to flinch slightly at the noise the motley crew of _youkai_ created. It was surprising that the ruckus didn't wake the person who was apparently intent on purifying the area of _youkai_ from sleep. Then again, with dawn fast-approaching, most people were probably deep enough into sleep that no sound would be able to wake them up.

What she would give to be one of the masses of sleepers right now.

"See now, I really have to go back. I need to be present for breakfast, at least, and then I'll head back here with Nyanko-sensei to see if he's got any good ideas. Tomorrow's Sunday, so I don't have to go to school, so it makes things easier for me to see what I can do, okay?"

The comedic-duo exchanged thoughtful looks, before turning simultaneously to face Takako, and nodded their agreement.

"Natsume-dono, allow me to escort you back to your dwelling."

"Not if you're going to blind and gag me again – it's a really very unpleasant sensation, Shinmichi. But, if you are able to…?"

With another rush of cold, summer's night air rushing into her lungs, she found herself once again launched into the dark sky. This time, she allowed herself to take in the scenery surrounding her, and breathe in the fragrant scent of the summer blooms that surrounded the Yatsuhara Fields. As they flew, Takako spied an old-fashioned, large building that seemed to be enshrouded in some sort of faint glow. Curious, she tugged at the clothes of her carrier,

"Shinmichi, is that where the human you need me to talk to lives? What's that faint glow?"

"Oh, you can see that as well? Seems that you have a bit more spiritual power than I first thought. That glow is what is left after each cleansing blast that that accursed human sends out. A lot of my friends have already had to flee their homes, and a few have been… purified. Completely."

The thought gave Takako some pause. As much as she had encountered terrible things in the past, and hadn't really had any good experiences with _ayakashi_, she couldn't quite bring herself to believe that any human who had experienced the same life as she had could be so heartless as to drive others out of their homes, _ayakashi_ or not.

Well, it wasn't as if she had had many good experiences with humans either.

"Here you are, Natsume-dono. I believe that this is where you sleep?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll see you when it's a bit lighter out, although I might be a little slow if I have to bring Nyanko-sensei along with me. I'm pretty sure he's hung over from partying at your's."

"Ah, you mean that rude, fat idiot who got himself stuck in his sealing vessel? He does always overindulge – in fact, he's the one who told us where to find you."

"…Pardon?"

"Oh yes – he started boasting one night about how he was as good as the owner of the Book of Friends, and a few more free drinks later, he had spilled almost every detail we needed to find you quickly. You really should consider leashing the beast, Natsume-dono." The matter-of-fact tone that Shinmichi had adopted rather irked Takako, as her gaze turned towards her betrayer. _No sweet buns from Nanatsujiya for a month, Nyanko-sensei!_

"You know, Shinmichi, this is the first time I've really spoken to a spirit."

"Oh? And how do I do as a conversationalist, compared to your human companions?"

"I'm not really sure – it's only recently that I've started having conversations with anyone. I tried to avoid spirits at all costs and most humans tried to avoid me at all costs." Tears came to her eyes, unwelcome, "It made it difficult to hold a conversation without someone to reciprocate."

A pause. She felt a skeletal hand rest upon her head, patting her gently,

"It must have been lonely, Natsume-dono."

_Even though there is hardly any flesh on her hands, even though it still feels cold from the night air, why… why does it fill me with such warmth?_

"Yes." Takako closed her eyes, and allowed the tears to fall silently onto the tatami mats, "It was."

* * *

"Takako-chan? Are you alright? I'm coming in!"

Blinking the sleep away, Takako peered blearily up at the kindly figure of Tohko-san, who was already in her apron, and smelling of miso and salmon, even though it was a rest day. Wincing a little at the harsh shade of blue that painted the sky, she sat up from her futon,

"Good morning, Tohko-san. Sorry, I think I overslept. Did you need any help in the kitchen?"

"Don't be silly, child! Your job is to eat whatever I put on your plate – when you grow a little more, then I'll start teaching you how to cook! That is, if you want to, of course."

"I… I'd love to!" She still wasn't very used to the kindness that Tohko-san lavished upon her, and still felt a pang of guilt every time she lied to the kind, motherly woman, but she did not want the Fujiwaras to know of what she could see, nor did she want to place any trouble at their door because of the world she lived within.

"Well then, sleepy-head, come downstairs and have some breakfast! Any plans for the day?"

"Er… yes – if it's alright with you and Shigeru-san, then would it be possible for me to head over to the Yatsuhara Fields? I'm visiting some friends."

"Of course! Oh, to be young again…" Takako smiled, letting the gentleness of her guardian wash over her, calming her senses. "Well, come and join us for breakfast, let Shigeru-san know when you're heading out, and if you're going to be there for dinner, give us a call to let us know, alright?"

Nodding, Takako waited until she heard the door of the kitchen close downstairs, before turning her attention to the idiot cat who still had the _nerve_ to carry on sleeping after what he had put her through. Standing over the snoring creature, she lifted the old, wooden fan that she kept on her desk, and brought it down upon its head without hesitation.

Five times.

"Yowch! What was that for, you brat?"

"Revenge! Weren't you the one to appoint yourself as my guardian? You're doing a freaking poor job of it so far, you pig-cat!"

"You're still alive and here, aren't you?"

"No thanks to you! Where were you last night, when I was at the Yatsuhara Fields?"

"Hmph! So, those idiots finally plucked up the courage to ask you the favour? If you can't even handle spirits of that low level, then it's worthless for my beautiful self to protect you."

"You… do you even _know_ what a guardian is meant to do? That's it! No Nanatsuji-ya buns for you!"

"What? How dare you!"

Ten minutes later, it was a very scratched-up Takako who managed to make it downstairs with a cat sporting several bumps on its head to have breakfast. Trying desperately to maintain a nonchalant smile at the dinner table, Takako ate, made her excuses, grabbed Nyanko-sensei by the scruff of his neck (not that he really had one, with the amount of weight the creature had put on since staying at the Fujiwara household) and practically ran out of the door. Really, who knew that trying to hide scratches made from porcelain paws was so difficult?

"Okay, I'll drop by Yatsuhara Fields first to give greetings and a head's up that I'm going to the temple, but then I'll head over to see if I can speak to whoever's causing the problem."

"If the guy is powerful enough to shoot regular bursts of purifying spells that have enough firepower behind them to make the Yatsuhara bunch worried, then you'd best be extra-cautious. You may be human, but those spells can still have an effect on you." Nyanko-sensei warned her, having to jog slightly to keep up with her brisk pace, "You've been doing fairly well with the whole caution thing – don't spoil your record now."

"I don't know, sensei – I still feel… guilty about misjudging Shinmichi as much as I did." Takako admitted, settling down on the bus stop bench to wait for the next bus, "I mean, I'm not going to be able to really return a lot of names if I continue to be so para… hold on a minute…"

She turned the full force of her pale-brown glare onto the pudgy cat that had taken up residence on her lap. Oh yes. She was _that_ mad.

"You! This was your plan? To isolate me further so that the Book would still be full by the time I died? Which, by the way, is going to be pretty soon if your stupid 'guarding skills' are anything to go by!"

"Argh… busted already? I was hoping you'd get eaten before we had this conversation."

"Don't think I can't hear the sarcasm…"

By the time the bus arrived, both human and pseudo-cat were sporting new battle wounds, with no clear victor between them.

* * *

"Natsume-sama! You came!" The Cyclops, who had chosen not to reveal his Name to her, was there with the Bull-head to greet her and Nyanko-sensei, "And Madara-sama as well? Why, we are truly blessed this day!"

"Stop with the small-talk and hand over the alcohol, idiot." Takako startled a little at Nyanko-sensei answering to 'Madara' – she had called the cat by 'sensei' for so long that she had began to forget that, as a _bakemono_, he too must have a true name. She had to suppress the urge to snort – somehow, the pudgy form of her sneaky, self-imposed, useless bodyguard, having a True Name meaning 'brave'? It really didn't suit his image.

"I'm just here to let you know that I'm headed off to see whoever's at the Temple. They might be more open-minded to a human approaching for peace talks compared to a _youkai_." She informed the crowd, who had already settled down with snacks and drinks, filling the air with tantalising alcohol, making even Takako a little heady with its scent. "Are you listening, you guys?"

"You should have gotten _dango_ from Nanatsuji-ya! Theirs is the best!"

Obviously not.

Sighing in resignment, Takako prepared to leave the rowdy bunch to travel to the Temple alone – after all, if the ground had really been properly consecrated, then most spirits would avoid the place like it was the plague. Not that it really killed them or anything – since spirits were a part of the Earth itself, it was nigh on impossible to actually rid the planet of any _youkai _; it was, however, very easy to weaken one, as long as you had the right tools to do so. The right tools including consecrated ground, some level of power and preferably something to hit them with.

A reason why Takako still ran for shrines when she encountered unfriendly spirits.

Suddenly, she heard, or rather _felt_, a ringing noise ripple through the air. Glancing around for the origin of the sound, all she could see was the Yatsuhara Fields and its occupants, nothing that should fill her with such dread and ring like a harbinger of pain and suffering…

A wave of white, hot energy swept towards her. She could feel the panic… _I can't get out of the way…!_

"_Natsume! Grab on!"_

The next few seconds was a flurry of teeth, claws, and air, causing her to tumble and flail as Nyanko-sensei shifted into his sky-dog form, carrying Takako gently in his jaws. Below them, they watched as the merry gathering scattered, fleeing from the wave of energy that had, indeed, come from the direction of the Temple. Breathing heavily, she looked towards the Temple in apprehension and confusion.

_How can a human who can see and hear spirit like me be able to do such a thing?_

"Hmph. You really need to stop wearing your heart on your sleeve, brat. Not all humans who can see us come out the other end with a conscience like yours." Nyanko-sensei rumbled, depositing Natsume onto the ground a good few minutes after the wave had passed completely. The entire area felt… clean. No, not just clean. It felt as if the very air had been scrubbed and anti-bacced, giving it a far too artificial smell that left Takako feeling strangely empty inside. The air she breathed in now just… didn't make her feel as if she were still breathing properly.

Every breath she drew was so… _bland_.

"This guy really is something – such a powerful blast with no warning at all. Some of the weaker ones in the Yatsuhara area probably won't be able to come back for a while now." Nyanko-sensei commented, his face contorted into a slight scowl, "We'd better get going as well, in case another blast comes along. Your powers are similar enough to a spirit's to be affected by this purification wave."

Takako almost agreed, before she stopped herself from taking the easy way out. "Wait, sensei! I promised the Yatsuhara group that I'd at least try and negotiate with the human on their behalf. We can't just leave them to the mercy of that… that… gung-ho so-and-so!"

"You need to work on your insults, Natsume."

Being in his larger form didn't deter the slap to the nose that Takako sent his way.

"Natsume, even if you were to leave this situation alone, it would resolve itself anyway! What is a few decades to a _youkai_? In a few decades, this human will either be too old or too dead to do anything more, and the Yatsuhara Fields will once again be the playground for spirits. Let's just go and leave this whole mess alone – I'm not sure if I can get you out of the way of that blast next time." Nyanko-sensei growled, his green eyes piercing Takako's own pale-brown irises.

"If a few decades really is a short time for you, sensei, why don't you try going for thirty years without alcohol, or Nanatsuji-ya buns?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous…"

"Then what was your point?"

The silence that followed informed Takako that another point had been added under her name on the imaginary repartee scoreboard she had with Nyanko-sensei. Even in this situation, she took a moment to silently gloat.

"Shut it."

"I haven't said anything!"

"I can hear you silently gloating, brat. Stop it."

Ah. Well, so much for subtlety.

"I'm still going to go see this human and ask them why they're doing this, sensei."

"I know, idiot. Which is why I'm going with you." Now that was surprising. Takako didn't have any doubt that he was strong enough to set foot on consecrated ground without being fried like a piece of tempura, but it would still be painful enough to drain the _bakemono_ of a good portion of his strength.

"Sensei, don't be ridiculous – the human can't do anything to me. Remember? Time has moved on now – if a human goes missing, there'd be a massive fuss, and…"

"And? If they mistake you for a _youkai_, they'll shoot you first before asking questions, and you don't have the same connection to the Earth that we spirits have. You. Would. Die. Instantly." Nyanko-sensei adopted a grave look on his ferocious face, "Even if you are human, your presence is that of our kind. And you don't have the same protection from humans that we have."

_You are alone_, was left unsaid.

Takako suppressed her tears, and whispered, "Even so… even if I am unprotected, and alone… I want to speak to them."

"Well then, I suppose that you'd appreciate some help?" A massive, crushing pressure appeared behind her, a deep, earthy voice ringing out. From the disgusted look on Nyanko-sensei's face, it was an old acquaintance.

"_Misuzu_. I can't believe that you're able to show your face, after your shameful defeat." Madara growled, his body adopting a protective stance around Takako, his teeth bared in warning against the gigantic, black bovine _ayakashi_ known as Misuzu.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! I'm so sorry that it took so long to put this out, and I still didn't manage to get to what I actually wanted to put in this chapter... work has been a little hectic, so this is literally the product of several post-midnight sessions. I don't have anyone to check spelling and grammar and so on, so sorry for any glaring mistakes!

I'll try and put out the next chapter as soon as I can, and you'll be seeing more of Misuzu and the Temple issue will also be dealt with!

Please continue to review! It really encourages me to write!

Thank you! Fiametta xxx


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: As much as it would please me to say I had the creative prowess as Midorikawa-sensei, I cannot claim credit for any of the characters. Blast.

**Chapter 3 - In which she finds she is no longer alone**

"Ah, Madara. I see that you're still hanging around." The gigantic, black-skinned _youkai_ chuckled, showing off two rows of shining, white teeth that looked like they could crush Natsume in one motion. "I would have thought that _you'd_ be too humiliated to let Reiko-_dono_ see you again since you were sealed in a _maneki-neko_, of all vessels."

"Look carefully, you blind old cow, this isn't Reiko!"

Takako had to force herself not to flinch or take cover behind Nyanko-sensei as the giant, somewhat horse-like face came closer to her own, its breath misting in the warm, summer air. The cold that emanated from the creature made her suppress a shiver. Its pupil-less eyes observed her, then crinkled slightly in amusement,

"Ah, I see... Reiko's descendent, correct? Hoshikari here did mention that Natsume-_dono_ seemed a little different from the last time they met."

"Hoshikari? The _ayakashi_ whose Name I returned yesterday?" Takako was surprised out of her frozen moment by hearing a name that she had spoken not twenty-four hours earlier, "You know her?"

"Indeed – she served me for many seasons, before absorbing enough of my energy to be able to become a _youkai_. She does, however, prefer her original state during the daytime." With that, he held out his only human hand, revealing a small, green frog in its centre. Although the appearance was extremely different, Natsume recognised the unique presence of the webbed-fingered _youkai_ who had come to her room the other night to ask for her Name back.

"Hi there, Hoshikari. I hope none of my kicks gave you too much trouble?"

The wince she got in return was answer enough. Oops.

"Er… sorry about that. But, really, you and Shinmichi didn't need to bind and gag me to get me here. I'm a reasonable person, you know."

The tilt of the head and a raise of a non-existent eyebrow spoke volumes.

"Okay, maybe not at the time, but…"

A tap of one of its hind legs indicated that it decidedly _not_ impressed by her attempted excuses.

"Hey! There's no need for… great. Now, I'm talking to wildlife. Sensei, I think the shock of the last hour has gone to my head." Natsume sat down on the grass, glad that she had chosen to wear a pair of old jeans that had so many grass stains and scuff marks that one more couldn't hurt. "Misuzu, did you say?"

"Yes. I heard from Hoshikari here that Natsume-_dono_ was returning the Names she had taken before. I believed that this would be a good opportunity to ask you to return mine."

Takako raised her eyes to the heavens and sent out a plea to her grandmother, _Reiko-san, what possessed you on the day that you challenged _this_ spirit to a duel? And how on earth did you _win? "Misuzu, I'm afraid that I've got a few problems to sort out right now – if you come by later, I'll be happy to return your Name…"

"Don't, Natsume! There was a reason why Reiko took his Name in the first place!"

"Don't interfere in my dealings with _this_ Natsume-_dono_ as well, Madara! Or have you already staked your claim on this one as well?" The two beasts were now facing each other, their teeth bared in hideous grins, snarling and growling at the other party. Clutching to Nyanko-sensei's massive foreleg, Takako jumped at how tense the muscles were beneath his fur.

"Misuzu! I will give your Name back, as long as you let me deal with the issue here at Yatsuhara first. There's a human here who is disturbing the residents…"

Immediately, the massive _youkai_ turned its full attention onto Takako, who almost wished she hadn't stepped in between the two spirits at that point. Forcing her shaking knees to stand their ground, she turned her smokey-topaz glare onto Misuzu's own intimidating gaze, "I will not acquiesce to any other agreement, Misuzu." Well, at least her voice alone wasn't shaking.

"Natsume-_dono_, you say that the one who is disturbing these fields is a human?"

Before Takako could reply, Nyanko-sensei cut in with a smirk in his tone, "Oh yes – why don't you take care of it now? After all, the faster everything is dealt with, the faster you might get your Name back…"

"Sounds interesting! Consider this as advance payment for returning my Name, Natsume-_dono_!" And, leaving a trail of dust behind him, the giant _ayakashi_ took off, leaving a gobsmacked Natsume behind him, staring dumbstruck at his enthusiasm.

"Sensei… when you said 'take care of'…"

"We _ayakashi_ usually mean in the permanent sense, yes."

Having spent quite a bit of time with Nyanko-sensei now, Takako knew that this could only ever spell trouble. Scrambling to find purchase on the grass with her worn-out trainers, she yelled in desperation towards the rapidly disappearing Misuzu,

"Wait! Misuzu! You can't just randomly kill people…!"

_I can't run that fast… there's no way on earth that I can run that fast!_ Right. Switching tactics!

Takako started to run towards the direction of where the purifying blast came from, hoping that it took Misuzu longer to find the human who shot the purifying wave than it would take her to find them. She could still feel the faintly pulsing energy coming from the direction of the Temple grounds, and quickened her pace. Diving into the thick foliage that blocked off the Temple grounds, she tried to ignore the painful scratches that the bushes inflicted on her forearms, feeling that the branches snagged at the already-frayed edges of her clothes. _Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it, just keep running, don't stop don't stop don't stop…_

"Natsume, you idiot! This is the best solution – that fat horse is going to eliminate the human, and you don't have to do anything!" Madara, still in his giant form, sloped leisurely by her side. Later on, Takako would spend an entire mealtime glaring at her shape-shifting companion, hating the fact that the idiotic guardian could outstrip her struggles with such little effort. For now, she was so out of breath that all she could do was pant desperately, refusing to take her concentration from the pulse of energy that was beginning to build up again from the Temple. "What is the point of trying? You'd better start getting out of the way before the human decides to start shooting again."

"I… can't… I need… to warn them…" Black spots were starting to build up in the corners of her vision. The building pressure added onto her running as fast as her legs would work was almost impossible – it was getting difficult to keep focussing on the job at hand.

A second later, she felt her body being lifted into the air, feeling secure in her sensei's grip. "Sensei! Don't you dare try and sto…"

"I'm not, idiot, I'm just making sure that you don't die because of something as _stupid_ as trying to save a human."

"But… blessed ground?"

"Hmph. Like that sort of thing could hurt me." Madara snorted contemptuously, shooting off towards the shadowy figure that stood in the middle of the field. Takako could just about make out a monk's garb, and then the unmistakable chanting of a Buddhist prayer. About two seconds later, she felt the pressure that Misuzu had emitted. Right behind them.

"Sensei!"

"You realise that his Name is in the Book of Friends, Natsume?"

"What difference does that make?"

"Just order him to stop – with the contract that his Name binds him to, he must obey any command you give."

_We are _so_ going to need to have a talk after this_. Takako seethed at her tight-mouthed companion, and leapt from Nyanko-sensei's back down to the fast-approaching figure, not caring anymore how dangerous and reckless she was being, and screamed, "_Stop! Misuzu!_" in her desperation to prevent a fellow human's death.

After the dust had cleared from the rather spectacular dive she had performed, she realised that she had landed on a fairly soft, _clothed_ mass, which she quickly scrambled off of. Looking beside her, she saw that her order had worked, if in a more extreme method than she had originally planned. The large _youkai_ was flat on the ground, knocked out and no longer a threat. Nyanko-sensei had placed himself between her and Misuzu, effectively shielding her from the large _ayakashi_.

"Natsume, there was no need for you to put quite so much power into your words. Anymore and you'd have exorcised him."

"Er… can I help you with anything?"

Both teenager and ancient spirit looked at the rather plain, rather portly man who was staring at Natsume as if she were a ticking time bomb. At first, she didn't think that anything was amiss – after all, most humans looked at her in that way, especially when she acted as if she were running for her life from nothing. Then, she remembered why she had been running at all,

"You… can you not see them?"

"Them? It's only the two of us in the field… is there something else around…?"

* * *

After repeatedly apologising to the monk, who had introduced himself as Tanuma, Takako sat cross-legged in front of the bemused monk, with Nyanko-sensei still in his sky-dog form, Misuzu still looking rather green as well as the Cyclops and Bull-Head of the Yatsuhara crowd. But, even with the strange beings surrounding her, Monk Tanuma's gaze was focused solely on her, a look that she was more than used to in her life.

"So… if I may ask, what exactly were you just chanting?"

"It's just a simple prayer, to cleanse the area a little. My son has always been a little sensitive to spiritual vibes – I'm just clearing the area to give him some peace of mind."

Natsume didn't have to turn her head to see that the spirits were gaping incredulously at the spiritually blind, ridiculously high-powered monk who had been unknowingly terrorising the residents of the Yatsuhara Fields. Meanwhile, Misuzu had started to rouse from his unconscious state, and Takako was still half afraid that he would go straight for the monk before she had the chance to explain the situation. Keeping a tight grip on the Book of Friends, as well as a fist in Nyanko-sensei's fur, she asked tentatively,

"So… again, if I may ask, can you see anything… out of the ordinary here, in this field?"

"Other than you and myself? I'm afraid not." The monk replied mildly, although he wasn't wearing the look of incredulity that most people had when she asked things like that. "Actually, if you live in this area, does that mean you attend the High School over by Nanatsuji-ya, the Kitagawa High School?"

"Yes, I do, sir. Why?"

"My son just started there at the beginning of this month. It was a bit of a sudden change for him, but I was hoping that being in a smaller community would help him."

"…Help him? You mentioned earlier that he's 'sensitive', but you didn't specify in what way."

The monk looked at her, then at her two hands, one which was clutched on a travel bag, and the other grabbing what looked like grass at first glance, but on closer inspection, seemed to be fisted in thin air.

"I think it might be better if you come into the Temple with me to meet my son."

* * *

She was sitting on the edge of the tatami-covered veranda, looking out toward the small, rather pretty pond in the middle of the patch of ground that the Tanuma father-and-son-pair stayed at. They had gone over to the Temple at first, but since the grounds _had_ been consecrated, her entire entourage of _youkai, ayakashi_ and _bakemono_ had refused to let her walk another step onto ground that they could not follow onto. Trying to fight against the massive sky-dog alone was already too much of a challenge for her five foot four stature, even without the added force of the Yatsuhara bunch and Misuzu on top of her massive sensei.

What she hadn't predicted was how hard it was to try and explain to the Blind Monk (Nyanko-sensei had been a larger influence on her than she had thought) why she couldn't step past the gates into the Temple.

Fortunately, the grounds on which their accommodation was built had not been consecrated, and he had led her through to the tea room. When she had seen the light shimmering on the wooden ceiling, she had pulled the screen door open to see the pond, with water so clear that she could see the multi-coloured koi fish swimming around at the bottom of the pond. Nyanko-sensei had finally shifted back into his pig-cat form, and the other spirits had positioned themselves around the water, bathing in the sun.

"Ah, Natsume-san. My son, Kaname, is on his way – I think he may have actually mentioned you before."The monk came back in, carrying a tray of green tea with him. Setting it down on the table, he glanced at Natsume, who was still staring at the pond, lost in its tranquillity. "You know, you are very much like my son in some ways – he spends hours staring into space as well. He usually sticks a book in front of himself, but I usually come back an hour later and he won't have turned a single page."

"Hm? Oh, sorry – you have a lovely garden, by the way, sir."

"Thank you – it's nothing special. Now, you were asking me earlier about seeing things that were out of the ordinary?"

"Erm… yes… you can ignore that, if you like. It was just a random thing – I'd had a little scare, back in the Fields."

The monk's attention was then caught by the dozing cat that had suddenly appeared in his house. "Is that a… cat?"

"This? Oh, it's just Nyanko-sensei. He follows me around."

"When did he get here?"

"He's always been with me." Takako added cautiously, "He was with me when we first met, as well."

"Really? I didn't see him…" Suddenly, the penny dropped, and the way he stared at the Nyanko-sensei became altogether more inquisitive. "I see that you have more in common with my son than I had first presumed."

"Dad? You called for m… oh. We have a guest?"

"Yes – this is Natsume Takako-san, a girl from your school. I'll leave you two kids to chat, shall I? I need to go and attend to the shrine…" With that, the elder Tanuma left the two teenagers in the room, showing altogether more trust in adolescent hormones than any self-respecting adult should.

Natsume stood to greet the boy, and had to tilt her head back quite a bit to try and meet his eyes. Tanuma was tall and had the look of a gangly teenager who was only just beginning to fill out. His hair was a little shaggy, rather obviously unbrushed and not at all remarkable. In fact, nothing really stood out about the young man – his features, although regular, were almost painfully plain. The only thing that stood out on his face were his eyes. They were bright – almost too bright – and an unnatural shade of brown.

The colour of topaz jewels. Just like her own.

"Natsume? From class A?"

Here, Nyanko-sensei roused himself from his afternoon nap, and glanced at Kaname Tanuma. Then, he emitted a disappointed sigh, and muttered, "Let's go home, Natsume. This guy's next to useless in terms of being able to see us."

Tanuma's reaction to this was almost as funny and satisfying as the punch she delivered to Nyanko-sensei's head. "Did… did that _thing_ just talk?"

"How dare you call the great me a thing? Rude, useless human brat! OW!" The cat glared balefully at Natsume, whose fist was beginning to hurt a little from the force of the punches that she was giving her sensei.

"Oh good G… that wasn't just me, right? It… the _maneki neko_ just talked!"

"Shouldn't you be more surprised that I can hear the cat as well?"

Both teens paused, absorbing the new information. Then, Tanuma suddenly glanced at the ceiling, and back at her, his eyes questioning. Following her schoolmate's gaze up to the patch of ceiling he was looking at, Natsume saw the shimmering reflection of the pond in the garden. Confused, she looked back at Tanuma, and asked, "Why are you staring that shimmering light? It's just the reflection from the garden pond."

"Natsume… there isn't a pond in the garden. I've been the only one who can see the light since we moved here."

Takako's eyes widened in shock, and little bit of horror. She had thought that she was getting so much better at differentiating the world of humans from spirits. Evidently not.

"Hey… can you see anything outside?"

"Well… nothing too specific. I don't really see anything out of the ordinary,I just get hints, and shadows, and sometimes I hear things, or feel things that nobody else can."

Natsume felt her heart sinking; although she had been nervous about meeting another person who could share her view of the world, she had also been so excited about being able to finally talk to another human who might even have a _chance_ to understand the hardship she had gone through over the years. And, now, with a boy who could hardly even be called _sensitive_ to spirits, she could hardly drag him into a world that he could barely even sense.

"Oh. Well then… I should probably head back home. It was nice meeting you."

"Wait! I… I want to… no, I _need_ to know if this is all just in my head. I've heard… rumours about you. They said that… that you had problems at old schools. Problems that were a lot like my own." The topaz eyes that mirrored her own bore into hers, pleading with her, "Please. I have to know."

Natsume paused, hesitating. Even if she couldn't tell him any specifics, she should at least lay his mind to rest about the limited things that he could touch in the spirit world.

"I know what you're thinking, Natsume. Don't you dare tell this brat anything. I have enough problems just looking after you, and you've actually got some meagre power in you!" Nyanko-sensei snapped, losing what little was left of his patience.

"Hold on, Nyanko-sensei. I still need to talk to his father about the Yatsuhara bunch. I don't plan on telling him anything that he doesn't have to know."

"Exactly, Natsume-sama! You have promised to help with our problem!"

"Our problem!"

"If you recall correctly, I made no such promise. I only said that I'd see what I could do. There's no way you can take what I said as a promise." Takako bit out, glaring at the comedic double act of the Cyclops and Ox-head. Misuzu had taken to sitting there and exuding disapproving auras once in a while towards her general direction. Frowning, she turned back to Tanuma, and explained calmly,

"I only came today to ask your father to stop purifying the land. There are supernatural beings around here, but I don't think they have any malevolent intent. Your father is making life very difficult for them."

Silence reigned. The tense atmosphere remained between the two teens, both of whom were looking at the shimmering light thrown onto the ceiling by a pond that only one of them could see clearly. Just as the weight of the atmosphere was becoming next-to impossible to withstand, the tall, black-haired teen suddenly snorted and guffawed,

"I'm sorry, Natsume. It's just that… well, I don't think I've ever met anyone as young as you speak with such old-fashioned wording and expressions!"

The tense atmosphere dissipated immediately.

Takako felt a blush spreading across her cheeks, as she realised that he wasn't exaggerating. Since she had spent more of her childhood speaking to spirits than she had to humans her own age, she had picked up their mannerisms and vocabulary as well, outside of 'unworthy human' and 'I'll eat you!'. Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had really interacted with anyone her own age outside of the families she had stayed with over the years. Suddenly, she became horribly aware of the fact that the person her own age was a _boy_, and that they were very much _alone_ in the room. The fact that she had at least three chaperones, even if Tanuma could only see one of them, did not comfort her at all, since their grasp of human sensibilities were poor, at best.

"Well, it happens when the only real company you keep speak in rhymes and riddles and formal language all the time." Natsume offered, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards, "Were you the one looking for me yesterday, at school?"

"Oh, yes – I had heard from a guy in my class that a girl called Natsume behaved a lot like me. Anaemic all the time, jumping at random times. The folks in this village are really nice – even though I behaved so weirdly, they all seem to shrug it off, and treat me just like any other person."

"I know." The atmosphere had brightened, and both humans were at ease, "I know."

"Dammit, Natsume!" Nyanko-sensei screeched, "I told you not to entangle another brat into this world! I can't afford to look after all of you!"

The fact that he had seen and heard the _maneki neko_ talk not ten minutes ago did nothing to abate the gobsmacked reaction that Tanuma had. Sighing, Natsume guided the shocked-looking teen towards the tea table, and motioned for him to sit down,

"This is going to take a while, so you may as well sit for the story."

* * *

"So… you can see spirits as _solid_ things, not just as shadows, or as ghosts?"

"I'm not too sure if ghosts really exist, although I've got my hands full just being able to see spirits, so I'll pass on being able to see any other supernatural things." Natsume replied, nursing a half-full cup of green tea, "But that's pretty much it for my story. Nyanko-sensei is a fairly new addition into my life, and I think he's already plenty mad at me, so I'd rather avoid telling you the full story."

"And your… Nyanko-sensei… sorry, but is there anything else I can call him? Calling a cat 'sensei' is a bit embarrassing. How did you even come up with the name, anyway?"

"That's an even longer story that I don't think you'd be able to stay awake during," _Not to mention Nyanko-sensei would skin me alive, agreement or not_, "But feel free to call him anything. He'll respond to pretty much any name."

"Don't make it sound as if I have no standards, stupid child!"

"Nyanko-sensei, if you allow me to continue calling you by that embarrassing name, it kind of implies that you have no standards _without_ me saying, don't you think?" Takako commented drily, poking the abnormally round head of her sensei in reprimand. She glanced back at Tanuma, who still seemed to be suffering from a case of shock at the fact that her cat could talk, "Please, Tanuma-kun. Continue."

"Right… er… so, Ponta? Could I call you Ponta instead?"

It was Takako's turn to chuckle, "It really suits you, sensei, you and your over-inflated head."

"Shut up!"

"Anyway, Ponta here took it upon himself to teach you about the world of spirits, and agreed to become your bodyguard? But why? Is there something in it for him?"

Shoot. Apparently, having blunted spiritual sense did not blunt Tanuma's wit at all. As she scrabbled a little for a reasonable explanation, Nyanko-sensei interrupted, "Well, at least you're sharper than Natsume here in brains, if not in eyesight. I'm accompanying her because she's interesting, and when you live as long as I do, you take your entertainment where you can. As soon as she stops being entertaining for me, I'll eat her faster than a Nanatsuji-ya sweet bun."

Takako could tell from the disbelief radiating from her year-mate that he refused to believe such an outright admission of regarding someone as disposable entertainment. It was almost painfully obvious that he hadn't met too many _ayakashi_ before, or at least, hadn't been on the receiving end of countless 'I shall devour you!'s. _And I intend to leave it that way_.

"Hold on, Ponta's only with you so that he can eat you when you're done? Are you… are you serious?" Tanuma exclaimed incredulously, staring at the roll of fat that only vaguely resembled a feline, "I mean, he doesn't look as if he _could_ do that much damage."

"What?! I take back what I said about your wit! It's just as blunt as this idiot's!" Nyanko-sensei snapped, swiping a claw towards Tanuma, only to be restrained by Natsume, "I could eat ten of Natsume if I wanted to!"

"Sensei, that's only admitting you're a glutton, you know that?" To her embarrassment, Takako let a giggle escape from her throat, the first time she had ever made such a noise after her father had passed away.

"What? Let's see if you're still laughing after I'm through with you…"

Five minutes later, the tea room looked more like a warzone, albeit with tea stains and crushed pastries rather than blood and guts strewn around, and the two teenagers were collapsed on the floor, laughing until they had no breath left. Dragging herself back into an upright position, Takako gasped out, "I think this is the most fun I've had with a fellow human… ever!"

"Well, this is the most fun I've ever had, period." Tanuma replied, equally out of breath, "It's kind of hard to talk with someone you can't see, and it's difficult to speak to people who avoid you like you were the plague."

"Tell me about it." Takako responded, suddenly realising how much _more_ lonely Tanuma must have felt when he was growing up. Granted, she had been terrorised and terrified to the point where she had wished everything in the world would just disappear, but she had still been able to speak to the odd spirit, although it was usually because she simply couldn't tell the difference between that which was human and that which was not. "It's actually surprisingly easy to get along with you, you know that?"

"Why, thank you. It's good to know that I'm not totally repulsive to girls." Tanuma commented sarcastically, laughing a little at her straightforwardness, "But I must admit, you're easy to talk to as well. Much easier than others, and even my dad."

"It's obvious why, you brats." Nyanko-sensei grumbled, now recovered from the punch to the head Natsume had delivered earlier, "You're at ease around each other because it's the first time that either of you have met someone so close to your own nature. It's a wonder that the attraction hasn't led you down to path to procreation yet." He threw in casually, causing Takako's blush to rear back with a vengeance, and Tanuma to choke on his own spit.

"Nyanko-sensei! What are you saying?" Takako exclaimed, her flush now reaching her ears. She had gotten so flustered that she couldn't even bring herself to slap the blunt cat, "That's considered sexual harassment, you know."

"Hmm… Reiko used to say the same phrase, 'sexual harrassment', a lot. I've forgotten now what she said it meant. OW!"

This time, surprisingly, it was Tanuma's fist that was throbbing from punching the cat's surprisingly hard, ceramic head. "That's oddly satisfying. I see why you do it so often, Natsume."

And that set off the laughing all over again.

* * *

"You said there was a pond outside?"

"Yes – how do you think there's water reflecting light onto your roof? Spirits are mysterious, but they're hardly illogical."

"Says the girl with a talking _maneki neko_ for a pet?"

"You make a good point."

"Are you going to take it?"

"Not a chance."

Takako and Tanuma had been sitting there, chatting for almost an hour now, comparing childhood experiences. Whilst she had not revealed the extent of her dealings with _youkai_, especially not the Book of Friends, but it seemed that explaining to her new friend how most of the supernatural beings he could sense were harmless and would ignore humans who couldn't see them made Tanuma feel a far sight better than he ever had about his latent powers. Part of her regretted not being able to share everything with her schoolmate, but at the same time, it was a relief to find someone who had had similar experiences with humans as she had. After all, most people she had confided her borderline-hatred for the blind humans to had either been shocked, horrified or 'not people'.

"Didn't having spirits bothering you all the time distract you from studying at all? I mean, you look like you actually belong in the first year of high school, unlike me."

"I may not look like it, but I'm actually almost a month older than anyone in our year." Takako smiled faintly, cursing her lack of feminine curves, "My birthday is in March, which means I should be in the year above you, as one of the youngest in the year, but what with being moved from place to place, and having spirits jump out at you at any random moment of the day, it was almost inevitable that I was going to be held back a year."

"So you're seventeen years old? I didn't think that you'd be a year younger than me…"

"I was usually safest on consecrated ground, so I used to do a lot of self-study in abandoned shrines and run-down temples. No one ever goes near those kinds of places, so it was quiet enough for me to get a good deal done. If it wasn't for one of the families deciding I was too much for their family to look after right before the high school entrance exams, I would have been your _senpai_."

"If I hadn't been so distracted by… well… I would have been _yours_. My birthday is coming fairly soon now, and I'm turning eighteen, so technically the seniority belongs to _me_." Here, Tanuma frowned a little in confusion, "Hold on – if consecrated ground prevents spirits from entering, then how is it that my old home seemed to be infested by them? My father definitely blessed the ground as part of an annual ritual, and it didn't seem to deter spirits in the slightest."

"I'm not sure about that, either. Sensei?" She turned towards the cat, who had long since started to ignore the two chatting teens in favour of dozing in the early afternoon sun.

"Hmph. Go bother someone else with that curiosity of yours. And I thought I was meant to be the cat here…" The cat grumbled, rolling over to face away from his charge. "Misuzu! You take over for a bit!"

Misuzu, the gigantic horse-headed _ayakashi_ who had been pummelled into the ground by Natsume's spiritual pressure not two hours before, turned to face the two humans. Natsume had to suppress a wince at his face – the disapproving look was enough to make anyone flinch. The spirit was obviously unhappy about her revealing so much of the supernatural world to a half-blind, half-deaf fellow human. Whether it was out of impatience for her to return his Name, or because of genuine hatred of humans in general, she couldn't tell.

"The consecration of earth is not an act a normal human can do. It is true that the monk has spiritual power obtained through dedication and training, but it is only those who have the potential to be a part of our world who can bless an area of land and keep it free of spirits. Even then, the ritual usually requires a live sacrifice, as your sensei well knows."

"A sacrifice? You mean that every shrine that's been safeguarded required the imprisonment of a _youkai_?"

"Hardly an imprisonment in most cases, Natsume-_dono_. Enshrinement is usually considered a privilege for us – being enshrined does limit our movement, but it essentially deifies us." Misuzu corrected, "Unless you're sealed. That's usually because the spirit in question wreaked havoc on the general population, and were sealed in the hopes that enough offerings would appease them, or at least persuade them not to escape and completely devour the humans who commissioned the imprisonment."

"Well, thanks for the explanation. It's just because the ground wasn't properly consecrated by someone who was born with our sensitivity, Tanuma-_san_." She repeated towards her fellow teen, who looked rather relieved to be included in the conversation of which he could only hear one half of.

"Just call me Tanuma – I'm not great with formality."

"Aren't we getting cosy here?" A different voice, distinctly female, cut in between Takako and Tanuma, who jumped at the sudden intrusion. A honey-brown haired, glasses-wearing girl popped her head through the opened screen door, smiling disarmingly, waving what looked suspiciously like a school assignment at the two other teenagers, "Jun Sasada here, special delivery for one Takako Natsume-_san_!"

"Sasada-_san_! What are you doing here?" Takako exclaimed, startled by the sudden appearance of her class captain. She could almost feel the mask she wore for the sake of social convention snap into place in response to the appearance of a completely unaware human.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? You left half of your assignments behind when you suddenly took off yesterday from school! It took me all of yesterday to track down your student record to see where you lived – then, when I visited this morning, the Fujiwara couple told me you had already left, for _Yatsuhara, _of all places. So, I had to wait for the bus for an entire hour, before getting on, and then I managed to fall asleep, so then I had to wait another half-hour for the _next_ bus…"

"Er… Sasada, is it? How did you get in? I thought my father was out on business?"

"Huh? Well, I did knock, but nobody answered for a while. Just before I was about to knock again, the door opened on its own, so I assumed that somebody must have opened the door and let me in before returning to work or something… was that not the case?"

Natsume glanced towards the courtyard, noting the definite absence of one of the comedic duo, and the guilt-ridden expression of the remaining one. _That's what I get for neglecting to keep an eye on them, I guess_.

"Anyway – you'd better get these done right away. The literature assignment is easy enough, but the Chemistry and Maths ones are really difficult. I'm still trying to get through them."

At the words 'Chemistry' and 'Maths', Natsume froze. It was rare for her to feel this kind of stomach-tugging terror when no spirits were actually involved, and the nausea was definitely a new experience. Wonderful. One of her first experiences of a normal high school student had to be something like this. Maybe whatever made her so appetising to _youkai_ also attracted bad luck?

"Natsume? Are you alright? You've turned… even paler. Like a ghost. Do you need a lie down or something?" Tanuma asked, genuinely worried that his newfound friend was about to faint then and there in his tea room. Sasada had the same look of concern on her face. Suddenly, she found both her shoulders gripped by surprisingly strong, slim fingers, looking into terror-struck topaz irises.

"Sasada-_san_! You _have_ to help me! I don't understand Chemistry or Maths at all, and I need all the credits I can get to be able to pass this year!" _I can't give the Fujiwaras any more trouble than I already have, _she added on silently.

"O… okay. That's fine – I haven't gotten very far on the assignments yet either. Although, if you had been at home like any normal adolescent would have been on a holiday morning at nine-thirty, we could have done this at _your_ home."

_No, we wouldn't_. Of that, Natsume was certain. Even though the change was subtle, it was still there; before meeting Tanuma, she would never have considered asking a fellow human for help on anything. After all, throughout her sixteen years of existence, she could count the number of times humans truly understood her feelings on one hand – the walls she had built to protect herself from cruel, _human_ prejudices against anything outside of the social norm had long since been established. The feelings of resentment, hatred towards humans who judged her without knowing her circumstances had morphed through the years into a single thought:

_There will never be another human who feels the same way as me, because there are no other humans who can live in the world I see_.

_I am alone._

But, after speaking to Tanuma, at least about her interactions with humans, she found someone who empathised, who could understand. Knowing that someone who wasn't even fully connected to the spirit world could still understand her seemed to weaken that protective wall. She wasn't afraid anymore to reach out to another human for their warmth, their company. Their help.

"Let's all grab one assignment each – Natsume-_san_, you take literature, it seems to be your best subject… I'll take Chemistry, and Tanuma-_san_, you can take Maths."

"Hold on, how come you're in charge, Miss Bossy?"

"Because I am the class captain – that means that in the absence of an adult, I am the default leader."

"Yeah, the default leader who looks through students' personal details – even I know that only teachers are meant to see those files!" Tanuma retorted, reaching for the Maths worksheet and cringing at the complicated maze of 'x', 'y' and various other letters. "And I'm not even in your class, so why should I help you with this?"

Sasada's eyes glinted mischievously, "Because, my dear Tanuma-_san_, whilst we have different Maths teachers, it's well-known by those who went to the nearby middle school that whatever one class does as an assignment, the other class will get as a surprise test during the next week. So, unless you want to be held back another year…"

"I like this human, Natsume-_dono_. Her skills of extortion are most impressive." Misuzu snorted, sending a short, hard blast of air towards them, blowing Sasada's hair into her eyes.

"Woah! What was that sudden wind?"

"Er…"

"It's nothing! It's an old house – bound to have a few draughty areas, right?" Tanuma supplied quickly, grabbing the Maths textbook from Sasada's hands, "Come on, back to work, right?"

Sasada nodded slowly, her expression barely trying to hide her suspicious glare, and turned her attention back to her classmate, "Before we go ahead and get stuck in, I've just got one question, Natsume-_san_, Tanuma-_san_."

"Hm?" Takako was only half-listening now, whilst ruminating on the first paragraph of the fourth chapter of _Taketori Monogatari_.

"Are you two dating? Because if so, you really shouldn't let it distr…" She was interrupted by two cushions being thrown into her face, but not before she got a satisfying view of two visages that would have put a tomato to shame.

* * *

The next several hours was only punctuated by the protests of the three teens' stomachs, which called for a quick trip to the local shops for some store-bought lunchboxes, and toilet breaks. By three in the afternoon, they had all finished their individual assignments, and by four, they had been double checked by another member of their impromptu study group. At five now, with Tanuma's father still at the shrine (since it was a rest day for office workers, the Temple was being rather overrun by customers at the moment, it seemed), both girls had phoned home to say they were staying at Tanuma's for dinner as well, but that they would definitely be back before nine, when the last bus was due to run between the two areas.

Sasada had insisted on checking the pieces of work one more time before copying each other's answers. She was now sat at the desk, eyes desperately scanning the Chemistry assignment she had given to herself as the remaining shreds of natural light began to dissipate into the darkening sky, bathing the landscape in a golden glow. Tanuma had taken to staring at the slowly-disappearing invisible shimmers on his ceiling, at peace now that he knew it was simply a _youkai_ carp pond in the middle of the courtyard, rather than anything more sinister. At some point during studying, Nyanko-sensei had decided that the hard, wooden floor was not as comfortable a spot as Natsume's lap, and had promptly crawled onto her thighs, earning an 'oomph!' out of Natsume, as well 'awww!'s from the two who did not have over ten kilograms of _maneki neko_ crushing their femur shafts.

And, as Takako took in the sight before her, with Sasada going through the homework (again), Tanuma staring at the carp-pond reflection on the ceiling, and felt the reassuring weight of her constant Nyanko-sensei, she knew one thing.

_I am no longer alone_.

How… alarmingly refreshing.

* * *

Madara wasn't a sloth, by any meaning of the term. Sure, he enjoyed the odd alcohol-binge, since his body could take the battering, and human food always seemed to satisfy his taste buds in a way that spiritual energy taken from a human couldn't, but when the situation called for speed, he could outstrip even the fires of hell to fulfil his task.

This was one of those situations.

Once the troublesome brats had separated and Natsume had finally gotten back to the Fujiwara home, he was proceeded to place a few protective talismans in the four corners of her room. Satisfied that they would keep the child safe for the few hours he would be gone, he crept uncharacteristically stealthily out the window. Glancing backwards, he noticed a slight frown on the girl-child's brow. Although he knew that she had nightmares, and could guess what they were about, they had never spoken about them during their short time together.

"I'll be back soon, brat." He muttered under his breath, making the jump from the windowsill, launching himself into the clear night sky.

He didn't see Takako's brow relax, her sleep once again peaceful.

Flying through the air as he wished, he realised that he hadn't been able to fly so recklessly since the girl had released him, since he was almost always carrying excess baggage in the form of a ridiculously breakable human around with him. Oddly enough, he now felt uncomfortably light without that extra weight. Well, that was what he got for letting a human use him as a mode of transport for the first time.

Spotting his destination, he landed in the middle of the recently-cleaned Yatsuhara Fields, facing the one who had called him out to this location. Misuzu.

"Hmph. Too bad the brat was too tired to return your Name, right, traitor?" Madara spat, his hatred for the spirit in front of him showing clearly on his savage face.

"Do not speak to my master like that, impudent cat!" The frog, Hoshikari, was in her humanoid form once again, defended Misuzu fiercely. "It's already unacceptable that you have gained influence with another human as gifted as Natsume-_sama_ before Misuzu-_sama_ again!"

"Hoshikari, that is enough. Whilst I am unhappy that Madara has decided to involve Natsume-_dono_ to such an extent, with the amount of power she has under her skin, it may be for the best that she has the Book in her possession." Misuzu turned his unblinking stare onto the significantly smaller Madara, "Although she is still unworthy, she may keep my Name for the time being. It may help her in the future."

"You mean if that disgusting exorcist clan approaches your territory again and threaten your servants? Believe me, _traitor_, I will not hesitate to make the brat burn your Name and you along with it when history repeats itself." Madara retorted, his stance still aggressive.

"We are not like humans, Madara – we do not repeat the same mistakes."

"I'm not willing to take my chances. This Natsume is not the same as Reiko – they both came out of their experiences scarred and hurting, but where Reiko attacked, Takako defends. She lacks the self-confidence that Reiko had. If she encounters those scum from the Matoba clan, she will more than likely fold to their demands."

"And yet, you gave the Book of Friends to her, instead of destroying her before she has the chance to grow into her potential as our greatest enemy?" Misuzu questioned.

"I let her have the Book because it amuses me. I only ever get involved with humans for amusement." Madara paused, pondering his answer, "As soon as she dies, I will take the Book for myself – that is our agreement."

"And? If she turns on you? On all spirits? You know as well as I, Madara, that that Book is the golden egg for all exorcists. If the wind blows in the wrong direction, it won't just be the Matoba clan who will be seeking your young human out. It will be every single exorcist family that still remains in existence, and not all of them will be using vinegar to catch Natsume-_dono_."

Madara growled lowly at the truth in Misuzu's words. He spoke the truth – if any exorcists managed to pull Natsume over the edge of the fence she was sitting on at the moment onto the side of humans, then the Book he was leaving in her care would quickly become a very dangerous tool. However, even in the short time that he had known this child…

"That will never happen. Even if she were to become an exorcist, I have faith that she would not use the Book as a tool of the trade."

"How can you be so sure? Humans change so often in such a short period of time."

"I can't say for certain – just a feeling. An overdeveloped sense of duty, or some such nonsense. I'm not sure where she learnt it from, but from the short time I've been with her, I can tell you now that she doesn't have the ruthlessness needed for being an exorcist, so you can rest easy." His golden eyes sharpened, his pupils contracting in warning to the giant bovine _youkai_, "But I will promise you this, Misuzu. If I catch _any_ rumours of you associating with the Matoba clan, or any other clan, I will destroy you. Even if it meant my own destruction, I will not let you betray another one of mine."

"I did not intend to betray Reiko-_dono_, Madara." Misuzu sighed, "The Matobas had cornered me, and had captured one of mine, and demanded to know the whereabouts of the most powerful human in the area. I offered the deal of exchanging the information for the vessel that held my servant. I did not know their intentions towards Reiko-_dono_ would be so…"

"Well, thanks to your _betrayal_, I was sealed in that shrine for a half a human lifetime, and Reiko was left to those _vultures_ in human guise! We'll never know what happened to her, Misuzu, but knowing how the Matoba treat those who refuse their demands, I'm sure that even with your limited intelligence, you can imagine that it was not pleasant." Turning away from master and servant, Madara did not even look back at the two spirits before throwing an afterthought at them, "I will not let another one of mine to become a plaything of those vultures. Unless you have a death wish, do not stand in my way." Having delivered his promise (because he always followed through with his threats) he launched himself back to the comfort of his new abode, to take advantage of the nest that Natsume had put together for him.

"Master, is it really alright to leave your Name in Natsume-_sama_'s hands?"

"It is not alright, but it is necessary. We cannot afford to let her out of our sights." _I cannot afford for her to become an underling of the Matobas, because all who are contained within those covers will also follow, including myself._

_If she is unworthy, then I will test her until she _becomes_ worthy to hold my Name._

* * *

_Author's Note_: I am so sorry for the delay, for any still reading this story! This chapter just did not want to be written - I'm still not happy with the finished product, but I've given this chapter up as a lost cause. Hopefully the next chapter will be a little better. I'll be introducing Natori in the next chapter, although the Matoba clan will have to wait a while until my version of Natsume learns a few new tricks.

'Kitagawa High School is just something I made up, since I couldn't remember if the manga or anime ever mentioned the name of the school - it means 'Northern River'.

'Taketori Monogatari' is a classical piece of literature, which tells the story of Kaguya-hime. For those curious enough, google it!

Thanks for reading and please review! Who knows, it may even make me write faster ^_^.

Fiametta xxx


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: If I were the creator of Natsume Yuujinchou, I wouldn't have quite so many complaints about life._

**Chapter 4 - In which she makes some new acquaintances**

The mid-year tests were finally over. In the true spirit of Sod's Law, the weather had suddenly taken a turn for the worse – the clear skies that had teased them for so long during the test week clouded over, the dull grey colours foreboding and predictive of summer showers. With only another week to go before the results came out, as well as the beginning of the summer holidays, one could almost hear the fervent wishes of all the students for the weather to cheer up in time for the month-and-a-half long holiday.

Natsume did not share her classmate's enthusiasm for the school term ending – after all, this was the first school she had ever really fitted into, and it was the first time that she had _friends_ for longer than the first week of introduction. And, although she would have Nyanko-sensei by her side during the summer, as well as the Fujiwara couple, she still found herself regretful of the long separation from her new friends.

"Natsume! There you are – you should really make a bit more noise so that you're a little easier to find." Sasada, who had taken to dropping the honorific (which was just as well – Takako had never done very well when it came to formality) when calling Takako, was waving a piece of A4 paper in front of her face; a piece of paper that looked suspiciously like it had her signature on it. "Remember this?"

"Class 1A's Trial of Bravery…" Takako read out loud, willing her memory to jog something that wasn't memorised from a textbook out, "Vaguely – you said that it was something the whole class had to take part in, right?"

Sasada hummed in confirmation, "Since the whole thing shouldn't take more than an hour, the teachers have given us permission to be on site without supervision. It's just a quick walk up to the top of the old school building. The site's set to be taken down during the holidays, so it'll be our last chance to walk those hallways."

"Taken down? The building doesn't seem to be falling apart at the seams…" Natsume pondered aloud, frowning as she looked out of the window at the old school building.

"Oh, of course – you might not have heard the rumours that surround the place since you transferred at the beginning of the year. In middle school, we were told by some of the seniors about the things that happened in the building when it was still being used – windows smashing, mysterious winds, random cold spells in just one room and the like." Conspiratorially, Sasada whispered, "There've even been rumours that there are _youkai_ haunting the place!"

"_Youkai _don't haunt – they stake claim." As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, Natsume regretted it. After spending so long with Nyanko-sensei, it was inevitable that she start to repeat the things he had started drumming into her subconscious mind day and night. _It's understandable from my perspective, but in this kind of situation…_

"Natsume! The way you say it, you sound like our literature teacher – something you're aspiring to, despite your aversion to the class?" Nishimura joked, perching himself on the desk next to hers, "Anyway, it's not just A class – it's pretty much anyone who cared to sign on. Since we're a small school and all, even if the whole year got involved, we'd still be done within an hour or two. The captain here press-ganged the whole of B class into the trial as well."

Takako smiled, relief flooding over her. Sasada had always been a little sharper than was convenient for her; the small slip-ups that she could laugh away or brush off in front of Kitamoto and Nishimura (who had taken to hanging around her in case she couldn't eat all of her lunch) were almost impossible to keep from Sasada, who had been suspicious that she was keeping a secret ever since they had met at the Yatsuhara Temple.

"Anyway, just make sure that you come tomorrow evening, alright? It'll take me a while to get things ready, so it's going to have to be on a Saturday." Sasada ordered, her index finger pointed imperialistically at Nishimura, a smirk dancing at the corner of her mouth, "Obey me, my minion!"

"Oi! Why are we minions?" Nishimura complained, glaring at his class captain.

"Did I use a plural? Natsume here is a subordinate, which makes her one rank higher than you. Natsume, feel free to boss him around like a servant, okay?" Sasada laughed at the gobsmacked expression on Nishimura's face.

"Why are you being so mean!? Ah! Kitamoto!" Nishimura grabbed onto his childhood friend, who had just entered the classroom, "My only ally against the evil witch!"

"Huh?"

"Evil witch, am I…?" Came the menacing accusation from Sasada, and the teasing resumed. Natsume was giggling more than she had ever done before in her life, so much so that she could feel tears gathering in her eyes.

_Is it alright if things stay like this…?_

* * *

The next day, the sun had come back with a vengeance. However, instead of rejoicing in the reappearance of the summer heat, Takako was bed-ridden, weak from returning yet another Name to a _youkai_ the night before. This one, a kappa from the Yatsuhara Fields, had come when he heard that she was returning Names without asking anything in return. Glancing at the corner of her room, she smiled as she spied the _sake_ the grateful spirit had decided to leave. She wondered if Kimyokawa (such strange names all her new acquaintances had…) had brought the alcohol to placate her sensei rather than Takako herself.

Considering the pseudo-feline's ire every time a Name was returned had become somewhat of a legend within the ranks of _ayakashi_, Takako was quite certain that that was, indeed, the case.

"Takako-_chan_! A phone call for you!" Tohko-_san_'s excited voice called for her, rousing her from her drowsy, comfortable state. "It's Jun-_chan_ from your class!"

_Sasada? What would she want with me right now…_ reluctantly, Takako threw a cardigan over her pyjamas, donned her slippers, and hurried downstairs to the phone in the hallway. Mouthing a 'thank you' (don't mention it) to Tohko-_san_, she lifted the phone to her ear, "Sasada? What's going on?"

"Natsume! You have to come over to the field next to the school grounds, now! Natori Shuuichi is here with his director, deciding whether or not to use the site for their next season! You _have_ to come right away!" Came the shrill shrieking that Natsume had come to recognise as 'fan-girl mode', something that she had observed from other girls at her old schools.

She had hoped that Sasada didn't have this particular mode.

"Sa… Sasada, calm down, spare my eardrums, and pardon?" Takako had understood about thirty percent of what Sasada wanted her to know, and that thirty percent hadn't included where exactly she wanted Takako to come to. "Where next to the school? In case you've forgotten, the school doesn't have any fields right next to it – it's in the only industrialised part of our area."

"Oh, right – the Nishikawa Fields – sorry, I keep on forgetting that you've only just moved here. It feels like so much longer. Anyway, it doesn't matter what you wear… actually, yes it does – be sure to wear something girly… but not too girly… anyway, just get over here!" The line went dead.

* * *

The expression of bewilderment Takako-_chan_ was wearing wasn't one that Fujiwara Tohko had ever seen on her young charge. Suppressing the urge to giggle, the happy woman bustled busily in her kitchen, cheerfully humming a small tune as she prepared a quick breakfast for Takako-_chan_.

Tohko was perhaps not _fully_ aware of all the things Takako-_chan_ had gone through before she had come to the Fujiwara household, but that wasn't to say that she was blind to it. The neglect and psychological scars that the young girl had hidden within her showed in almost every smile, every courtesy, every formality she bestowed upon the two adults with whom she shared only the _barest_ amount of blood. She still remembered the tears they both shed on the day that Takako-_chan_ agreed to become her ward, even if it was only for the period of time until she turned eighteen and was officially recognised as an adult in the eyes of the law.

Three years. Three years to be able to give the girl a proper childhood that she had not been allowed to have before.

Well, she was never one to turn down a challenge.

With that thought in mind, Tohko went back to watching the miso soup, quietly plotting how to get Takako-_chan_ to have more moments of bewilderment in the next three years.

* * *

Fifteen minutes, miso-and-rice, a good morning scratch from Nyanko-sensei later, Natsume was ready and had hit the floor running. She still had no clue what Sasada wanted from her, nor why she was actually going along with the younger girl's demands. As she came within sight of the school, she felt a smile creep onto her face. She had never been a part of any groups in schools, since she either got moved out of them too fast to settle in, or other girls were plain creeped out by her random screams and the strange occurrences that happened around her. Sasada was, after Tohko-_san_, the first female company she had had in her life.

_Maybe that's why I can't refuse anything she asks for – am I too scared of losing whatever relationship we have between us?_ Natsume wondered, in a rather detached fashion. It was sad, but it was more than likely that her friendship with Sasada had started along those lines. And it wasn't likely that the friendship would be able to withstand the trial of time.

After all, Natsume had learnt long ago that revealing her ability to see things that others could not was not the best ice-breaker.

"Natsume! Over here!"

Turning to the school building, she spied Sasada waving enthusiastically from the third floor, next to one of the art rooms. Waving back with considerably less vigour, Takako proceeded into the school building, feeling a little strange since she was in her own clothes. When she had informed Tohko-san that she was headed to the school to see someone named Natori (the girlish screams that had ensued still didn't inform Natsume who this Natori character was), she had been pulled back into her room, and had had a flowing, white summer dress that she usually avoided wearing thrust into her arms. Even after protesting the outfit, after one hit from the 'Tohko-puppy-eyes', she couldn't help but give in. It may have been her imagination, but as she was leaving the house, she could have sworn that the ever-stoic Shigeru-_san_ smiled at her, and mouthed 'my sympathies'.

Evidently, she wasn't the only victim of the 'puppy-eyes' in the household.

"Sasada – good to see you again. What are you doing at school, anyway?"

"I had to get some things ready for the Trial of Courage tonight, when I was asked about the area by the man himself!"

"Who?"

"I told you over the phone, didn't I? _Natori Shuuichi_!"

"Again – who?"

"Oh for… do you not watch television or something? Natori Shuuichi is an up-and-coming actor who's become really popular in the last year or so. He's on the massive bulletin board in town – don't tell me you've never even been into town?" Sasada exclaimed, exasperated with Natsume's ignorance about celebrities.

"Well, I don't usually watch television at the Fujiwara's, and I've always been a little… absent-minded." Natsume felt a pang of guilt as the lie slipped so easily from her lips. Being able to see spirits and the like made it difficult for her to really pay attention to the latest fashion news – if anything, she was more attentive to her surroundings than anyone she knew.

"Natsume – for someone who's so book-smart, you can be really air-headed. Life is about more than books! You have to look outside of the box that confines you!"

Natsume looked pointedly at her friend, "And you need to watch _less_ television, by the sounds of things."

"That's hardly the point, my friend." Suddenly, Sasada grabbed her wrists, and yanked her to stand next to the window, the bright summer sun temporarily blinding her with its glare, "Look! There he is!"

Blinking the sunspots away, Takako focused her topaz gaze once again at the field that stood just outside of the school grounds. She could see two figures, both male, one wearing a hat and glasses. They were close enough that she could see that the man wearing a hat and glasses had well-structured features, although his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and his posture was stiff, almost guarded.

A lot like hers when she was could sense a spirit close by.

"Alright – now that I've seen him, am I allowed to go? Tohko-_san_ said that she'd teach me how to make gratin today." Takako drawled, becoming slightly bored of looking at the two men.

"What? I brought you here to see _the_ Natori Shuuichi, and that's all the thanks I get?"

"You woke me up from the first proper night of sleep I've had a chance to have in the last two weeks. Of course I'm a bit crabby at this point in time!" Natsume snapped, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to remove the tiredness from showing. "Now, do you need any help with the preparations for tonight, because _that_, I can stay for."

She was rewarded by a smile that threatened to out-do the sun.

* * *

It was a good three hours later that Takako finally managed to start her journey back to the Fujiwara's. The afternoon sun pounded upon her back, and she already began to regret not taking some time to put some sun-cream on. She was going to burn unless she found some shade quickly.

_Speaking of burning…_

She spied something sticking out of the hedge in front of her. Upon closer inspection, she found that it was the same _kappa_ whose Name she had returned just the night before. Checking around for any signs of human life, she knelt on the ground, careful not to get her new dress dirty, and poked at Kimyokawa cautiously,

"Er… Kimyokawa? Are you alright there? Hello?"

"Urgh…"

Looking at the top of the _kappa_'s head, she noticed that the small dish that needed to be perpetually filled with water was dangerously close to completely evaporated. Thinking quickly, she jumped to her feet, and hurried back to the closest source of water she knew of.

"Excuse me, sir! I only have forty yen on me at the moment – I was wondering if I could pay you back the rest when I come by tomorrow?"

"Ah, Natsume-_chan_ – Fujiwara-_san_'s charge, right? She talks about you quite often… that thirsty, are you?" The jovial, rather rotund shopkeeper grinned at Takako, and she could feel a flush appearing at the back of her neck. It was true, though, that a litre bottle was a little excessive for just her alone.

"Erm… it's for a friend as well. She suddenly started feeling really anaemic, so she asked me to get some water…"

"Don't worry about it, kid. Since you're in Fujiwara-_san_'s care, I'll take you at face value. Make sure you pay back the sure you pay back what you owe, though!" The shopkeeper winked at her, handing over the heavy bottle of water in a plastic bag. The ringing of the shop door caused his attention to be diverted, "Welcome!"

Natsume smiled brightly, took a step back and bowed respectfully to the shopkeeper in thanks, "Thank you very much for your kindness."

"Goodness, I don't think that sixty yen deserves _that_ much respect! Go on now, kid – give my regards to your guardians!"

"I will!" Takako nodded in polite greeting to the man who had just entered, barely noting his strange appearance, although finding it strange that he was walking around in such hot weather in a long, heavy coat and wearing a hat that obscured most of his features.

"Hmm… I didn't think that youngsters still knew such archaic speech. Is everyone around here like that, shopkeeper?"

"Ah, no – she's only just moved here. She probably picked the habit up from one of her previous guardians… hey, aren't you…"

Golden eyes that were in no way affected by the barrier of eye-glasses pierced the shopkeeper's awestruck gaze, "I'm here incognito, and I'd like it if it stayed that way, sir." A professional smile ensured the shopkeeper's silence on the matter, "Do you sell origami paper here, by any chance?"

* * *

"You really need to watch yourself, Kimyokawa – it _is_ the summer, and having your Name back still doesn't make water any less easy to evaporate under the summer sun." Natsume berated, as she poured the entire bottle over the _kappa_, who was now sighing in relief.

"Ah… I know, Natsume-_oyabun_…"

"Hold on – I'm not your boss!"

"Well, since you _are_ the saviour of the Yatsuhara Fields, we've elected you as our leader, Natsume-_oyabun_." The strange, duck-like face beamed at the surprised human's face, unperturbed by her gaping mouth.

"Don't I get a say in this? I'm trying to _return_ Names, not gain more!"

"Well, you no longer have any of our Names in the Book, Natsume-_oyabun_. And, since you were nominated by Madara-_sama_ as the leader, and you were backed by most of our group, you are the leader, even if you weren't aware of that yourself."

"You know, someday, someone from your group is going to have to teach me _youkai_ politics, because I have a sneaking suspicion that Nyanko-sensei isn't telling me the whole story." Takako half-joked, rather shaken by the gaining of _another_ group of followers. "Anyhow – do you think you can make it back to water, or do you need some help?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't dare impose any further! I actually came over with a message from Madara-_sama_. He says that he won't be back until after dinner, but could you save him a bowl of Tohko-_sama_'s cooking for when he does come back."

Natsume raised an eyebrow at the polite speech that Kimyokawa talked of, and snorted, "Are you sure he didn't just say something along the lines of 'that idiot better make sure to save all the best bits for me!' or anything?" The embarrassed flush that contrasted strangely with the lush green of the _kappa_'s skin tone was all the answer she needed on _that_ front. "Tell him that I'll definitely save at least three fried shrimp for him, but no more since he already looks like he needs a diet."

"I will, Natsume-_oyabun_!"

"A simple –_san_ will do, Kimyokawa! Calling me that makes me feel like I should be wearing a _yukata_ and wielding a _katana_ or something!"

Waving at the fast-disappearing form of her new acquaintance, Takako wondered how she was going to get rid of an empty litre bottle in a place where public bins were already overflowing from uncollected waste. As she finally lost all sight of the resident of the Yatsuhara Fields, she felt a small pang of loneliness that she stomped on immediately; after all, she now had somewhere to return to as well.

She wondered what kind of gratin Tohko-san was going to make for tonight.

"Who were you waving to, young lady?"

Her surprise was marked by her high, girlish squeak (which she would later deny _fervently_), and an attempt to jump out of her own skin. The soft-spoken, unmistakably male voice came from behind her, far closer than she was comfortable with. Scrambling forward in a decidedly unladylike manner, Natsume held a protective hand over her waist-bag, which contained the Book of Friends. Looking upon the intruder, she noted that it at least _looked_ like a human man, in a heavy trench coat and with a hat that obscured his eyes from sight.

What she was more concerned with, however, was the fact that she couldn't _sense_ any humanity emanating from him.

_Is he a human, or a spirit pretending to be human…?_

"Just… a friend. He was a little ill earlier on, but since he got better, he headed back home." She worded cautiously, still backing away from the man slowly, "Something I should also be doing now, sir."

"Now, now, I'm not anyone suspicious, little lady. Just a curious passerby. After all, that's a rather large bottle of water you've got there."

"As I said, sir – my friend was feeling unwell. The water was shared between us." She was certain now. There was something strange, and _dangerous_-feeling about this man. Human or spirit, it was time to leave. "Therefore, if you would excuse me…"

"You really do use _very _formal language, little lady. Not at all like a child of this day and age…"

"Goodbye, sir."

"A small piece of advice, little lady – you'll fit in much better if you used some more modern terms." The man smiled, but the emotion did not extend to his eyes. "Goodbye. I do hope we won't meet under less happy circumstances." And, with that, the man left a rather bewildered Natsume staring at his retreating back.

"What a weirdo".

* * *

After her strange encounter, Takako shared a wonderful afternoon in Tohko-_san_'s domain (also known as the kitchen), which involved a lot of giggling and a few mishaps with the kitchen equipment, so much so that even Nyanko-sensei, who had been eagerly awaiting the products of Natsume's first attempts at courgette gratin, fled to the safety of Natsume's room and refused to come out from under the covers until his human stopped being so… _girly_.

"Oi, Natsume! Aren't we meant to be going over for your trial of bravery or whatever? Hurry up and let's go!" Nyanko-sensei yelled impatiently, having had his fill of Natsume's first attempt at proper cooking, and was bouncing in a rather comical way around her room.

"In a second, in a second! I just need to grab the Book…" Securing the waist-bag to her body once again, she ran down the stairs, peeping into the living room for a quick 'I'm off' to the Fujiwara couple, and ran out of the door for the second time in the day. She kept one hand over the Book of Friends, as if by doing so, she would be able to protect those whose Names resided within its pages.

"I've been meaning to ask all afternoon, Natsume – did you meet some strange being on the way home?"

"Nothing… too strange? There was one guy who looked a little fishy, but he never even came near me, and he doesn't know my name either." Takako admitted, slowing her pace slightly so that her pudgy sensei could keep up with her, "I _think_ that he was human."

"Hmm… it's only that you smell a little… strange. Like something's been attached to you." Nyanko-sensei frowned, "Well, if he didn't touch you, then it should be alright. But we really need to do something about your inability to distinguish between humans and non-humans."

"I can't help it – they both have the same sort of feeling, so there's no way for me to distinguish them if they don't _look_ like spirits!" Takako protested, somewhat hurt by her sensei's bluntness. "Be nice!"

All she got in reply was a dry smirk from the strange cat that she called _sensei_.

* * *

"Hey! Natsume-_san_!" Nishimura waved enthusiastically towards her, to whom she waved hesitatingly in reply, a smile playing at her lips, "Over here! You're in our group!"

After a few introductory words from Sasada, they split into groups of threes and fours, and proceeded into the building with only a faintly glowing candle between them to light the way for them through the abandoned building. The eerie silence that hung within the halls sent shivers up their backs, despite the warm summer night air.

It was a good quarter of an hour before someone finally spoke. Nishimura murmured, "Weren't there about three groups who went in before us?"

"You make a good point." Kitamoto replied, becoming just as edgy as his best friend, "I'm sure that Sasada went in just two minutes before us, and I haven't heard her voice even once."

Natsume was becoming increasingly nervous. She avoided these kinds of places normally because it was somewhere that _youkai_ and _ayakashi_ usually claimed as their own, and many of them would take offence in so many humans coming to intrude. Her instincts were screaming at her to turn and run. _It's fine. I'm a girl – it wouldn't be weird if I opted out, surely?_

"Hey, guys, I'm getting really creeped out…" Turning around to face her year-fellows, her prepared coward-speech was cut short by the clattering of the candle holder onto the rotting wooden floor. "Guys?"

She was, once again, alone.

"Hmph. Foolish human rituals – they've already disturbed the spirits who live here."

Okay, not totally alone. Sensei was with her, of course.

"What do you mean 'disturbed the spirits'? They do this every year, and no one's ever disappeared before, as far as I know!" Takako exclaimed, furiously searching her travel bag for a torch.

"It is simply a coincidence this time – don't you go doing that whole self-blame thing you seem to be an expert on." Nyanko-sensei admonished her, leaping onto a window ledge with less difficulty than Takako would have accredited to his size, "The leader of the _ayakashi_ here seems to be a fallen god."

"What? A fallen god? You mean, a god that turned his back on his worshippers?"

"No, that's what we call scum; a fallen god is one who has done something unforgiveable. What only a _youkai_ would do. He has made himself unclean."

"So… he killed?" Takako asked tentatively, having finally found a torch that, thankfully, still had working batteries in.

"Correct."

"But… gods make bad decisions all the time that result in death – droughts, floods, fires… what would a fallen god have to do to make the murder so horrible?"

Nyanko-sensei frowned at her, and replied, "The rules of the Spirit World are vast and obscure; it is not for us to dwell upon."

Takako raised an eyebrow at the cat, "Is that fancy-talk for 'I don't know either'?"

"_Anyway_," Nyanko-sensei snapped, promptly side-stepping the whole issue, "it is too troublesome for me to protect you in this form, since that half-blind monk's son isn't here to cover. I'll have to adopt another form."

"Another… sensei, don't you dare…" Natsume hurriedly protested, worried that the cat's giant form would completely destroy the old building walls altogether. Then again, when had the _ayakashi_ ever listened to her at all?

She was rather surprised at the sight that she was left with after the smoke cleared. Amber cat's-eyes peered out of a curtain of brown hair, from a distinctly _human_ face.

"Hmph. It will do, I suppose." An imperialistic, arrogant voice emerged from the girl's face. "It's been a while since I've had to take human form."

"You couldn't have picked something a little _less_ similar-looking to me? What am I supposed to introduce you as? My long-lost sister?"

"Well, you humans all look the same from a distance! I've only had a close look at you and Reiko, so you're the only ones I can replicate without too much difficulty." The girl was now checking her dated-uniform, her nails, her hair. "In this light, just tell people I'm a visiting cousin of something. It's easier than trying to explain why you're talking to your cat."

The fake human made a good point.

"Fine! Fine – just… don't be too obvious."

"What are you talking about? I've been living with you for over a month – I have watched your behaviour patterns for long enough to know how you humans behave." Came the offended retort, the expression on the girl's face distorting a little to resemble her sensei a little more in that she was pouting with all the indignant grace of a feline.

"If you really know how we behave, sensei, why are you trying to wash your hair using your own saliva?" Takako asked, her expression deadpan.

"Because some of your human behaviours are too stupid for the magnificent me to understand, let alone copy!"

"And washing using a bath and shower are part of that?"

"Er… Natsume? Is that you?"

"Sasada! Where have you been?" Takako left the side of Nyanko-sensei, and rushed to her class captain, anxious to shed some more light on the situation. "Where's your group?"

"Right back at you – where are the two idiots?"

"You know, Kitamoto would be hurt if he heard that – as far as he's concerned, Nishimura's the real idiot." Natsume joked weakly, trying to dispel the tension, "And they disappeared a while ago."

"I see – it looks like it's just the two of us right now." Sasada giggled nervously, "Hey, if the two idiots aren't here, who were you talking to?"

"She was talking to me, human."

_Sensei! Humans don't tend to call fellow humans by species!_ Takako groaned internally.

"Er… okay… hey! You look really familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" Sasada squinted in the poor lighting at the vaguely-human figure.

"I am Natsume's master! Bow before me!"

Oh boy. _Why me?_

* * *

"So… this is Masako, who is your cousin, and visiting from a nearby town?"

"Yes. She's a bit of an _otaku_, so she's picked up a few weird phrases around the place. Ignore her if she spouts out anything too weird." Takako added for good measure, cursing her sensei's decision to turn into a human.

"Right. Where's she gone, anyway?"

"She said that she'd scout the area. Or something." Takako fought the urge to plant her face in her hands to hide herself. Why, oh why couldn't she have been stuck with Nishimura? Or even Kitamoto, who wouldn't have been suspicious even if 'Masako' had sprouted kitty ears and started purring whilst dancing the Macarena in front of him.

_No! You can't think so badly of Sasada – it's better to have her here than someone completely clueless._ Takako mentally scolded herself, shaking her head to clear it of negative thoughts. It seemed that she still wasn't used to having humans around who didn't shun her for the mere reason of her extra sight.

"You know, when I was still a second year in the middle school here, I lost my lucky charm. It was the only thing that my mother left for me when she… well. She left us when I was ten."

"Oh." What did a normal person say in this sort of situation?

"It's fine. I've made my peace with it a long time ago now. In my second year, I came into this building as a part of a dare, and got spooked, and I just ran. It wasn't until I got home that I realised that I'd dropped my charm in the building somewhere. I couldn't stand leaving it there, so I went back the same evening to look for the small bag.

I managed to get into the building, but it was too dark, and I couldn't see anything. I was feeling really down, and I was already crying a little. Just as I was about to give up, I heard a voice behind me, and saw a boy wearing our uniform, with a bucket on his head, of all things!

He told me to get out, and return to where the humans are. When I told him about the charm, he scoffed and left me alone. It was about ten minutes after when I finally gave up all hope, and prepared to go home. But, just as I was about to leave, the boy came again, and dropped the charm right in front of me. His knees had scuff marks, and his hands were scratched. He must have been searching for _ages_.

I tried to thank him – I reached out to shake his hand, but he flinched away from me so violently, I thought that I had offended him in some way. He just muttered, 'I'm dirty' and left, just like that."

Natsume had perched on the windowsill, listening intently to Sasada's story. It was confirmed then – it was more than likely that the boy she had met was the _ayakashi_. "Dirty?"

"Yeah, it's weird, right? The guy completely brushed me off, but still spent all that time looking around for a charm that he didn't even know the value of." Sasada smiled, "After that, I spent all of the next night, and the next, trying to find the guy again, but I could never meet him again."

_That might have been for the best_. "Why did you want to meet him again?"

"I wanted to tell him that he wasn't dirty – not in the way that I think he was trying to imply, anyway. The fact that he had a bucket over his head and dirt all over his clothes kind of _did_ make him dirty in the sense that he needed a bath."

"I see."

"Oi! Natsume! Human! The coast is clear – we're getting out of this dwelling."

Sasada and Takako both jumped a little at 'Masako's' arrival. Sasada smirked, and turned to Takako, "I can tell the two of you are related – both of you speak as if you're in a classical literature book."

"I'm really getting tired of people telling me that." Takako muttered under her breath, turning to her sensei instead, "And what about the others? We can't just _leave_ them here."

"Why not?"

"Because, _Masako-san_, people will notice if twenty-odd human students all disappear in one evening!" Takako hissed, elbowing the humanised version of her sensei. Giving up trying to convince Nyanko-sensei as a lost cause, she turned instead to Sasada, "Go home first, Sasada. I'll look for the rest of our class, okay?" With that, she immediately spun on her heel, and prepared to run further into the building.

She was stopped by a firm grip on her shirt. Glancing back, she saw the wide-eyed, frightened gaze of her class captain. "Natsume! You can't go back in alone! I'll come with!"

"Sasada – don't worry about me. I've got Ny… er… Masako here, after all. We'll be fine. Just… go home. _Please_." _Don't add to my worries_.

"Natsume… I've never told anyone else this before, but I'm absolutely sure that the boy I met was a _youkai_, or an _ayakashi_… he wasn't human, at any rate. He didn't hurt me, but since he…" Sasada paused, as if unsure about how to go on, "At any rate, just… let me come with you!"

Natsume was struggling over how to reply to Sasada, when she was saved from having to give a response by Nyanko-sensei, who shoved the fingers that held her in place away. "It's not for you to worry about this one, you blind human. She knows more about that sort of thing than you could ever hope to even _see_ in your lifetime. Get lost."

"Nyan… no, Masako! Be nice!" Takako gasped, shocked at the cat's rudeness. "She's just trying to help!"

"Yes, well, she's being more _unhelpful_ than helpful right now. The best she can do right now is to go home and go to sleep." As much as she wanted to, Takako couldn't deny that her companion was correct.

"Look, Sasada, just go. I promise that I will return safely, in the morning, as will all of our classmates. So, please…"

"No! It's too dangerous! I won't let you…" The half-hysterical girl was suddenly cut off when a slender, cold hand clamped itself over her mouth. The last thing Sasada Jun heard was a hiss, so low that it sounded like a curse, and she knew… no more.

* * *

"What have you done with Sasada, sensei?" Takako half-shouted, panicked beyond reason – she had made it this far without killing a fellow human, and she intended to keep it that way, "So help me, if you've harmed her in any way…"

"Calm down, idiot. She's just sleeping. As long as she stays underneath the spell, she'll be fine." With that, the human-version of sensei immediately 'poofed' again, and the pudgy cat form that Takako had grown accustomed to in the last couple of months stood in the place of the seemingly teenaged girl.

"What did you find?"

"As I thought before. A fallen god – a former god of luck, who was imprisoned within a house that used to stand on this ground; he killed the descendents of those who chained him here, it seems, and thus became _youkai_."

"Then… what does he want with us?"

"Nothing. According to the spirits who have taken up residency here, he lets them stay here for free, and protects them from larger, meaner spirits." Nyanko-sensei frowned, his pudgy face comically contorted, "However, once one has been betrayed once, it is difficult to forget the grudge. You never know – he has tasted blood once before. He may not hesitate to spill it once more."

Another shiver ran up her spine. Again, nothing to do with the climate.

"Then… my classmates?"

"More than likely to be gone. In the permanent sense."

"No! I promised Sasada…"

"Well, let this be the first time you break one. If you carry on giving away the Names in the Book of Friends like you are…"

"That's right! The Book of Friends! Maybe there's someone in there who could help?"

"Now you're just clutching at straws, idiotic human brat!"

Natsume paid the grouchy cat no heed. Instead, she propped Sasada upright on the wall, and proceeded to run towards the stairs to the rooftop. Once she reached there, she shouted, "Hello? Are you there?"

Silence.

"Sensei! How do I summon him?"

"Unless his Name is in the Book, I doubt that you _could_ summon a god, not even a fallen one."

"Fine… hey! Fallen god! You missed a couple of humans on your rounds!" Takako tried a different approach.

"What are you doing, you foolish child?"

"Clutching at straws – like you said, sensei." Natsume gritted her teeth, and poised herself, ready to fend off any and all attacks, "And if you don't want me to get eaten as well, you'd better get ready to help."

"Oh for… why couldn't you have been the shy, retiring, _obedient_ type?" Nyanko-sensei grumbled, tensing as he felt a powerful, malevolent presence behind them.

"Reiko?" A grave, echoing voice demanded, a humanoid figure that stood more than six feet tall, and wore a wooden mask that only revealed a single, weary eye.

"No. I am her granddaughter. My grandmother has already passed on, before my time."

"Why do you disturb my rest, granddaughter of Reiko? Is it not enough that you and your kind have ripped my divinity from me?"

"Please, god, return the humans that you took from this place." Natsume went against her instinct, and bowed to the fallen god, feeling uncomfortably exposed.

"And nothing in return? How like you humans, even one who can see as clearly as you."

"I… I apologise. I did not prepare anything to give in return." Natsume replied, now conscious of the fact that she really had nothing to trade but things that she could _not_ give up.

"_That_ will suffice." A commanding finger gestured to Takako's waist-travel bag.

"Forget it, weakling!" Nyanko-sensei, having shifted into his true form, surrounded Takako in a furry embrace, "This one is _mine_."

"Hmph. Even if the human _is_ yours, what is mine is not yours to bargain with. What I want is contained within the pages of the Book."

That gave Takako pause, "Within the pages… do you mean a Name?"

"Yes. My own – Reiko wrested it from me many seasons ago, with the promise that she would cleanse it and return it to me within the season it was taken. It appears that I was wrong to trust a human once again."

"My grandmother probably did not keep her promise because you do not need cleansing." Takako replied, one hand resting on the soft fur of her sensei, and the other over the Book. "It was not wrong of you to trust humans."

"Ha! Even now, I can sense that even _you,_ one of _their kind_, place no trust in humans. Return my Name and let me leave this accursed ground."

"You… are bound to this place?"

"Without my Name, I lack the power to pass on. I am weary of my existence, and as this place is to be destroyed, there is no point in remaining on this plane of reality. I wish to be freed, with or without my purity restored to me."

"Then… return the humans that you took, unharmed, and then I'll return your Name to you." Natsume risked, carefully retrieving the Book from her side.

"You dare…" The fallen deity hissed, his anger apparent.

"Yes, she does. And so do I, fallen god – with your divinity stripped from you, there is _nothing_ stopping me from swallowing you whole." Dramatically, the gigantic sky-dog bared his teeth and licked his lips, "I've never eaten a god before. I wonder if you're as delicious as the rumours say?"

"Sensei! Behave!"

"I will when he does!"

"Enough! I will return the humans. But first, my Name."

"If, as you say, I do not trust my fellow humans, how can I possibly trust you?" Takako demanded, still clutching onto the fur of her sensei for security.

"I am not so inconstant as you creatures. Even as unclean as I am, I still retain the honour that my former divinity demands of me." A gesture of his hand, and the twenty-odd classmates who had been swallowed by the darkness of the building appeared behind the former deity. "Now. Will you uphold your part of the bargain, or will you prove to be just like your grandmother, inconstant as the wind itself?"

"I will return your Name to you." Takako replied, pulling out the Book, and leaving the protective circle that Nyanko-sensei had formed around her.

"Natsume, you cannot be serious! Think of what he has done – what he might still do!" The giant white spirit spat out, one massive paw blocking her from moving any closer to the fallen god.

"No. I've made a promise, as did my grandmother. I will honour her promise in her place." Pushing past Nyanko-sensei, she stood before the imposing figure of the god. "Tell me, deity, why do you constantly call yourself 'unclean'?"

"Because I have stained myself with the blood of your kind; I have dirtied myself beyond measure. I would taint anything I touch now."

Takako frowned, "You know, just because you made a mistake and lost your divinity, doesn't mean that you'd taint everyone you touched." Deliberately, she reached out with her hand, coming within a millimetre of touching the _youkai_ before stopping at his flinch, "Is that why you refused to touch Sasada? For someone so vile and unclean, you're really very kind, searching for a charm for someone you believe to be inconstant and unworthy."

"I just wanted her to get away from here. She was disturbing my peace and quiet with her snivelling and crying. It seemed like the easiest way to get her to leave."

Natsume's frown deepened – something didn't quite add up here, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "If you say so…"

"My Name, granddaughter of Reiko?"

"I _have_ a name as well, you know. Why can't you spirits at least know me by my own name rather than as just 'granddaughter of Reiko'." She muttered rebelliously, taking a deep breath, and concentrating on the Book.

"_Ye who calls thyself my guardian,_

_Reveal thyself to me!"_

The familiar turning of the pages soothed her, as she waited for the correct page to reveal itself. As the turning pages halted, she removed the paper from the bindings of the Book, and placed it within her lips, and placed her hands together in prayer,

"_This is thy name. Accept it, Shigure_."

And blew the Name back to its true owner. She did not fight the vision that came with it.

* * *

She could see a younger Sasada, coming and going, everyday, for so long.

Calling.

Searching.

_Why does she still come?_

Looking for Shigure, the fallen, the unclean.

_Why does she not fear me? Why does she not fear my tainted touch?_

To thank him? But if she did…

_She will not come again._

And so, he continued to conceal himself, continued to wait for her arrival, her company.

_It has been so long since children have approached me with no fear within them. I cannot… do not want…_

* * *

Natsume's topaz eyes shone brightly in the night, awakening from the vision, tears spilling as she still felt the echoes of the desperate loneliness that Shigure had experienced for so long. Seconds later, she heard a sigh of relief, and a blast of bright, white light flooded her sight, blinding her. But, not before she saw the wooden mask break away, piece by rotten piece.

"Natsume? Are you there?"

The timid voice startled the young girl, and she whirled around on instinct, despite lacking the ability to see anything at the moment, "Sasada? Is that you?"

"Yes! Have you seen…"

_Thank you. I am glad that I was able to speak to you once more._

"Is… is that you? The one who returned the charm to me?" Though she could not see, Natsume could hear the pregnant pause between human and god. Then, she heard Sasada's voice once more, "Listen to me! You are not dirty – not to me! I don't know why you think you are, but…"

_Shh, child. I am happy that you are well. Farewell_.

Just as the Shigure's presence was fading, Takako felt a gentle hand atop her forehead, warm, protective. _Thank you, Natsume Takako. Be well. Fear not for your fellows - I shall take their experiences of this night with me as I leave now. Farewell._

And so, the restored god left, taking the memories of the humans with him.

* * *

The next morning, Natsume was in her uniform, rather dreading the day ahead, since she was getting the first of her mid-terms back. Maths – not her best subject in the world. Second only to Chemistry.

"Hey! Natsume!"

"Oh, Sasada. How are you?"

"As well as I can be, after last night – what happened? When I came to, we were all on the rooftop, like we said, but nobody can remember how they got there."

"Er… well, if no one can remember, how do you expect me to?" Takako tried to dodge the subject, by bringing up another one, "How do you think you did in Maths?"

"Oh, forget schoolwork! You know what I'm talking about – I can't remember everything about last night, but I do remember your _cousin_ knocking me out, and you running into danger!"

"Sasada, are you alright? I don't have a cousin, or at least, none that you've ever met. Are you sure that you didn't just dream the whole thing up? We _did_ all fall asleep on the rooftop last night, after all." Natsume gave a tentative smile, hoping that it would deter her friend from any further questioning.

"I… suppose so…?" Sasada's tone was sceptical, but then, her eyes took on a smirk that made Natsume feel rather like a rabbit caught in car headlights. "Actually, there _is_ something that I wanted to ask you. Did you see something last night?"

"Er… nothing out of the ordinary?"

"_Really_…?"

"Erm…"

"I know what I saw, Natsume. So… tell me… since when were you able to see _you-know-what_?" Sasada whispered.

"Who knows what?" Nishimura called, a lopsided smile plastered on his face, "Morning, people! How are we after last night's weird adventure?"

"Getting tired and then falling asleep is hardly an adventure, Nishimura." Kitamoto came close behind, still looking rather tired. "And I concur – who knows what?"

"Just talking about the exams. How do you think _you_ did, Mr Straight-C's?" Sasada teased, not missing a beat.

"And proud of it, I'll have you know! It's still a passing grade!" Nishimura defended good-naturedly.

"What will you do if you managed to get a B, I wonder?" Kitamoto mused, leading the group of four towards the school gates.

"Noooo!"

Laughing at the antics of her new (and first) human friends, Takako flinched away from the not-too-gentle nudge given by Sasada, "Don't think I've forgotten what we were talking about, Natsume. Don't worry though – I'll keep your secret safe." With another smile, the class captain skipped away, pausing only to touch her forehead lightly, where she could still feel the gentle touch of the hand that had comforted her, even if she could not remember exactly what had happened.

* * *

"Natori-_sama_, how was work?"

"Same old, same old. Although, I saw something… that might be of interest later on."

"Oh?"

"Just something to keep an eye on. A little lady, who seems to have taken a fancy to human dwellings."

"Should we deal with it, Natori-_sama_? Or should we wait for word from the Matoba clan?"

"I'd rather not. I have made no secret in the past of my dislike at being ordered around like their whipping boy. Until she becomes a problem, I will leave the matter alone."

"Of course, young master."

Natori Shuuichi, part-time actor and full-time exorcist, hung up his hat and trench coat as he recalled his earlier meeting with the young girl who had eyes of topaz and the presence of something that was not human.

"I have a gut feeling that my next filming day will be an _interesting_ one."

As if to agree with him, the small, tatto-like black salamander that seemed to be embedded within his skin crawled restlessly, winding up his arm to rest next to his heart.

* * *

_Author's Note_

So... to anyone who's been waiting for an update, I am deeply, truly, _really_ sorry for the long (long) wait! University has just started, and life has just become that little bit more hectic lately. I will try and speed up on updates, but I wouldn't hold my breath - trying to complete a three-year program in just the one year is really much harder than it sounds ^_^'

In reply to one reviewer (sorry, it's late and I'm in a hurry - you know who you are ^_^) - yes, this will be more of an alternate universe than anything. I'm trying to keep Natsume as in-character as possible, but I kind of want to show how being a girl might affect how she deals with the exorcists, and I want to explore what happened to Reiko a little bit more. Since the creator of Natsume Yuujinchou hasn't shared her fate with us yet, I'm making up my own version. I hope that's alright with you!

The thing about the _kappa_ is on Wikipedia (the friend of all students ^_^).

For next time, I'm introducing Natori fully, as well as picking up the pace of the story a little bit more. Please read and review! You never know, it might make me more amenable to ditching study-time in favour of writing this story!

Until next time!

Fiametta xxx


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - In which Takako realises she is not alone**

"Sensei, I know that you've got many _wonderful_ and _magnificent_ forms, but could you bear in mind that the form you usually assume is one of a rather small, ceramic cat? Which cannot eat as much as you seem to!" Takako vented, tugging lightly on the leash that was currently attached to a rather portly feline.

"Hmph! My body stays the same weight, whether I eat a lot or starve myself!" Nyanko-sensei, the far-too-overweight pseudo-cat snapped, more than just a little annoyed at the situation he was in at the moment, "And is this leash really necessary? I cannot believe that you would be so rude as to chain your own sensei!"

Natsume Takako, a sixteen-year-old high school girl who held the ability in her topaz eyes to see beyond what the majority of humans could see, sighed in exasperation at the creature that had taken her under his wing (so to speak) to teach and protect her. So far, she didn't feel very protected, and she was fairly certain she was just as ignorant of the world of spirits as when she had started the difficult mission of returning the Names of all the _youkai_ her grandmother had tied up in a neat little bundle with a cover that read 'The Book of Friends'.

All in all, the last few months had been absolute and utter _chaos_ for the girl whose previous 'normal life' only consisted of working towards independence and avoiding all forms of existence – human or otherwise.

"Nyanko-sensei, the leash is very important – I'm quite certain that if I let go of this end of the leash, you'll immediately go… go… chasing mice, or grasshoppers, or trying to find catnip or something. Your flightiness knows no bounds!" She scolded, glad that she had moved into such a rural area – if she were at her last guardians' home, people would have already seen her talking vehemently with her cat, and the rumours would have already spread from the local housewives to their children.

They always did.

"Ha! You talk as if I have the nature of a cat! How many times do I have to tell you, you idiot? I am the great… dragonfly!"

"Huh? Woah! Sensei, stop tugging!" Takako exclaimed, hanging onto the leash and anchoring her heels to the ground, "Don't you dare break free of this, you stupid demon cat…"

"Not. A. _Cat_." The suspiciously feline-looking ball of flesh hissed, still pulling on the collar.

"Oh really? If you're not a cat, then why do you suddenly have the urge to chase dragonflies?" Natsume smirked, digging her heels into the dirt again, "Now come on, we're walking over to Tanuma's place."

Unfortunately for her, Nyanko-sensei was already a little too far gone for her words to hold any effect over the creature. Another insistent pull or two later, and the leash snapped clean off the collar, causing Takako to stumble as her unruly sensei broke free of his restraints. "Sensei! Get back here, idiotic cat!"

Too late. Takako watched in a resigned fashion as the cat bounced into the tall grass thicket that made up the Nishikawa Fields, directly behind her school. Although it had originally been a sport's playing field, since the physical education teacher went on maternity leave the term before last, they had not had a proper outdoor lesson in months, which meant that the grass hadn't been cut in the last several months. The grass was now tall enough to almost reach her hips. It was going to be impossible to find sensei here.

"Sensei? Sensei! Come on, I promised Tanuma and his father that we'd be there by three!" Takako called, tugging slightly on the new summer dress that Tohko-_san_ had insisted she wear. Well, when attracting flies… "The sooner we get back, the sooner you get to eat Tohko-_san_'s home cooking again!"

The wind blew a calm, pleasant breeze into her face. The overly warm summer air had slowly been replaced by the cooling arrival of autumn, which, although still not quite there yet, was snapping on summer's heels. Taking a moment to clear a stray lock of hair from her eyes, Takako closed her eyes, and let her hearing take priority over sight. She still remembered when Nyanko-sensei taught her the skill, right after the incident with the fallen Shigure. _Your eyes see much clearer than any other human's, but it's too unreliable. Your hearing and sense of touch are much more reliable tools to distinguish between humans and spirits._

_Breathe…_

_Focus…_

_Listen…_

The grass was whispering, carrying the gossip from another part of town. The leaves were yawning, tired from their two seasons, ready to fall and make way for their younger siblings. The earth was cracked, groaning from the lack of water.

There! The unmistakable sound of Nyanko-sensei's presence. Her eyes snapping open, Natsume turned in the direction she heard her sensei, and broke into a slow jog, "Sensei? I know you can hear me!"

Going forward, her attention was so focused on the presence of her sensei, she was almost completely blind to what was right in front of her. Later on, she would defend the whole incident to her sensei by saying that she was too focused on trying to find _him_ that everything else just slipped from her attention; it really was a credit to her concentration, after all. It _completely_ explained why she tripped over the mass of human that was lying on the ground just three feet away from her.

She took a sharp intake of breath, shutting her eyes in preparation for the pain that was about to hit her from falling onto the hard ground, when she felt an arm around her shoulders, steadying her before she lost her balance. Opening her eyes, she felt her ears turn red from embarrassment when she saw that the person who had caught her was a man. A rather handsome, charismatic man who looked suspiciously like the actor Sasada kept on making goo-goo eyes at.

"Er… thanks, sir. Erm… sorry about that. I should have been paying attention!" Scrambling to stand up straight, she bowed in apology, "I am really, really sorry!"

"Don't worry, young lady. It was partly my fault too – I shouldn't have been sleeping in such a random place." The man smiled charmingly, brushing some stray fragments of grass from his clothes. "I could hardly let such a pretty girl hurt herself on account of me."

Great, now her cheeks were starting to burn as well.

"Erm… you see… I was looking for my cat… er… I thought I heard him calling from that side of the field…" As she grew more and more flustered, she found her explanation being more and more interrupted with 'er's.

Damn teenage hormones. She had thought that she'd managed to get away from the whole hormonal attraction stage of puberty.

"Is that so?"

"Er…" Come on, brain! Think of something more intelligent to say other than 'er'!

"Natori-_san_! The camera's up and ready to roll!" Came a distant voice. Startled by the presence of other people waving to them, Natsume and the man named 'Natori' jumped apart. It was obvious that both of them had been too engaged in their little exchange to notice anything else.

"Well, it was nice to make a formal acquaintance with you, little lady." Another charming smile later, and the man had returned to the rather considerable crowd that had built up around the camera team and the charismatic man. As the distance between them increased, Natsume became aware that goosebumps had travelled their way up her arms and the shivers carried on down her back.

And not the romantic type of goosebumps that Sasada's books had talked about either; these goosebumps could only be described as _creepy_.

And, now that the guy called Natori wasn't facing her anymore, she silently berated herself for liking the pretty face – after all, the smile never reached the man's eyes. Not even once whilst they were talking. _How could I have thought he was charming in any way, shape or form?_

"Hey, isn't that the actor, Natori Shuuichi?"

"Yes! I heard from my niece that they were looking around here last month to see if they would be filming here."

"Oh, he's so handsome!"

"Oh my goodness, he just smiled at us!"

Takako rolled her eyes at the gossips, pointedly ignoring the fact that she had been just as preoccupied with pretty boy's looks as the neighbourhood aunties were at the moment. She resumed her search for the troublesome cat. "Sensei!"

* * *

Half an hour later, with Nyanko-sensei securely in her arms, Takako finally arrived at the Yatsuhara Temple. Letting her sensei free, with the guarantee that she would do more damage than a couple of bumps to his head if she could smell _any_ evidence of alcohol on his breath when he got back, she knocked on the Temple's main doors, "Tanuma-_san_? Sorry I'm late – Nyanko-sensei decided to go chasing dragonflies again!"

"Ah, Natsume-_san_? Don't worry about it – what's important is that you're here." The priest smiled belligerently, appearing at the door and letting the smell of incense hit her in the face like a bulldozer.

"Have you been doing ceremonies this morning?"

"Ah, the smell? Sorry about the stench – it was for a ritual cleansing ceremony for one of my regulars." Tanuma's father smiled apologetically, "So, is this just a social call, or was there something a bit more business-related on your mind?"

"Both, actually, sir." Natsume admitted, feeling a little guilty about exploiting her contacts in such a way, "I was just wondering how to make the charms you hang around your house, to… ward away ill-intentions?"

"Well, I don't know about ill intentions, but it does seem to do the trick for Kaname most of the time." The kindly priest quirked an eyebrow, "Is this another thing you want a personal touch for?"

"Er… yes? I'll still pay for the charm, since you're taking the time to teach me and give me the materials and…"

"Natsume-_san_, that wasn't what I meant. Let's just call this a helpful act for my son's good friend, and leave the payment, alright?"

_Oh_. She really needed to learn the proper etiquettes for being friends with a person – there was only so much she could learn from being a copy-cat. "Um. Er… thank you very much, sir." She muttered, suddenly feeling exceedingly awkward in this situation.

A gentle hand rested atop her head, and she looked up at the priest. He was smiling gently, with sympathy brimming in his eyes, "Natsume-_san_, there is no need to thank me for something that I should be doing anyway. Think of it as a favour, if you will."

"I… see…" Natsume said hesitatingly, a little wary of the word 'favour' – after all, _youkai_ had tried to cajole her into deals before with small, innocent favours that inevitably led towards something that would not be at all beneficial for her health. Oh yes – Takako had learned to be extremely cautious when she heard the phrase 'a favour'.

Nevertheless, despite her internal struggles, she forced the corners of her mouth to twitch upwards, and lowered her eyelids so that her eyelashes hid the apprehensive look in her eyes. "In that case, Tanuma-_san_… let me thank you for your kindness, at least."

She didn't know when she had become so accustomed to copying the strange habits of society in order to fit in. She understood that there was a necessity for the lies – after all, explaining exactly _why_ she hated the phrase 'do me a favour' so much would only make her stick out even more than she already did.

What she didn't understand was why the lies had suddenly started to weigh so heavily on her chest.

Still, humanity (and those who lay outside that narrow category) accepted surface appearances more often than not, and her friend's father accepted her act far too easily. "Well then, now that we have that out of the way… what say we begin with some simple paper charms to ward off ill-intentions?"

* * *

"Natsume-_san_? Were you with my old man again?" Tanuma the younger asked, his dull amber eyes dancing with mirth, alerting Takako that something was amiss.

"Yes… why are you laughing at me?"

"Me? Laughing? Perish the thought!" Tanuma stated mildly, though the amusement had not yet dimmed from his eyes, "Only that you have ink on your nose."

_Shoot_. "Say something earlier, Tanuma! Hold on – I'll go rinse it off now." She hurriedly checked her dress for any signs of ink staining – traditional calligraphy ink was such a pain to try and get out of fabric – and moved towards the bathroom, determined to ignore the soft snickers coming from her _sensei_, "And don't think I've forgotten about you, you idiot feline!" She hissed under her breath, knowing that the _maneki neko_ would be able to hear her whispered promise of pain.

Having rubbed her nose quite raw (and thus red as that English Christmas song… something about a reindeer…?) and still rather seething at her _sensei_, Natsume shut the tap and examined her face. She frowned a little, blaming her newfound vanity on the awakening of her 'teenage girl-ness'. Even after the half-year of plentiful feeding from Tohko-_san_, her years of running-for-my-life-on-a-near-empty-stomach still showed in her features. While Sasada had expressed her jealousy of Natsume's petite figure, Takako found that her figure was still one of a pre-teen, with no chest to speak of, and a pointy, stubborn chin that would stick out if she held her neck straight. It really made her despair of ever becoming as beautiful as her idiot sensei would call her grandmother from time to time.

Sighing in the futility of her vanity, she abandoned her perusal of her unpleasing reflection, and left the bathroom to see if Tanuma needed any rescuing from her talking cat. Then again, the dull-eyed teenage boy seemed to be able to hold his own with the disguised _ayakashi_, so she didn't hurry her footsteps too much.

Later on, when she reflected on the chain of events that followed, she reasoned that she really should have hurried a little more to avoid what followed.

"Ah, little lady! I didn't think that we would meet here, of all places."

Spinning on her heel, Takako came into eye contact with a pair of intense topaz eyes, the likes of which she had only ever seen within her own reflection, shielded behind a pair of glasses. The same features that she had (literally) bumped into earlier peered down at her curiously.

"Oh… er… Natori-_san_, was it?"

"Yes, although I have yet to make your acquaintance, little lady." A charm-loaded smile was shot in her direction, but the smile never reached the man's eyes.

"Erm… well, I'm a friend of Tanuma-_san_'s son. I'm here visiting. I'm very sorry about earlier." Natsume offered, slightly unwilling to part with her name to someone who gave her such bad vibes.

"Well, although that explains why you're here, I have yet to know your na…"

"Ah, Natsume-_san_! I see that you've met Natori-_san_?" The kind-meaning priest undid her hard work in less than three seconds. Takako had to suppress a groan of frustration.

"Natsume…?" Natori asked, his question now directed at Tanuma the elder.

"Ah, right – this is Natsume Takako, she moved here just a little before us. She's become friends with my son, and is interested in old folklore, so she often comes by to talk to me as well."

"Pleased to meet you, sir. I'm currently having a study meeting with my friend, so if you would excuse me…" Takako bowed, and hurriedly removed herself from the presence of the man with unsmiling eyes so disturbingly similar to her own.

* * *

"So, she's been here for just over half a year?"

"Hm? Oh, Takako-_san_? Yes, she moved in with the Fujiwara family a bit before the school year began – there were some circumstances that made her move from her previous guardians' house. She's been settling well, and I'm glad that she's made friends with my son."

"Hmm…?"

"Now, if I remember our phone conversation correctly, you wanted some parchment paper that's used for charms, correct? We can write something on it for you, if you like?"

"Ah, that's not necessary, thank you. I prefer a personal touch for protection charms."

* * *

Natsume hurried so quickly back to Tanuma and her sensei that she was a little out of breath by the time she got there. Having almost thrown herself into the room, she was faced with two raised eyebrows at her slightly panicked behaviour,

"Where's the fire?" Tanuma the younger asked, becoming a little nervous.

"Don't get so worried, half-blind offspring – I don't smell anything overly malevolent clinging to her. The only _ayakashi_ currently here are me, and that fish in the pond that I'm not allowed to eat." The tone in his voice was distinctly sulky, "Now, care to explain why exactly you came in like you were being chased by something that's about to eat you?"

"No. It was nothing. Just… just something that startled me. Nothing to worry about." She forced a smile onto her lips, and took a breath to steady herself and stop the trembling that was trying to work itself into her fingers.

"You're not at all convincing, Natsume." Tanuma frowned, his eyes glancing at her slightly trembling fingers. "You really are quite bad at lying, once a person gets to know you."

_Does that mean that not many people actually know me then?_

"If you must know, I saw someone in the hallway that looked a lot like that popular soap star – Natori Shuuichi."

"Oh, that guy? Yeah, he's been coming over quite a bit in the last month or so. They're filming over here at the moment, and according to my old man the guy likes seeing old temples and stuff." Suddenly, Tanuma's frown seemed to deepen ever so slightly, "He gives me the creeps."

Takako raised one eyebrow, a little surprised (and relieved) that she wasn't alone in her feelings about the man, "How so?"

"Not a clue. I guess… it's kind of like when I see shadows that cannot possibly be cast under the sun, but different at the same time? It's really hard to explain." Tanuma tried to express his feelings on the matter.

"No. Not at all. I… I think I understand…" Natsume stopped in her tracks. She didn't dare go further into the details with Tanuma – not with someone who could never truly see the world she walked in every day. From the sudden perking of Nyanko-sensei's ears, it appeared that she was dangerously close to revealing far more to this half-blind human than was advisable. "I… I think I need to go."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Tanuma – I didn't realise it had gotten so late – I'd better get going before it gets dark." The lie rolled far more easily off her tongue than she would have liked.

"Er… well… okay, if you say so. I'll walk you back."

"No, it's fine – really! I don't want to get you into any… situations." She felt a tinge of guilt by using her friend's fear of _youkai_ against him in such an underhanded way, but she couldn't risk dragging Tanuma, who didn't even have enough power to clearly _see_, any further into a world where he was next to defenceless without her beside him.

_I cannot inflict this pain and isolation on another person. Not if they are not equipped to deal with the dangers ahead._

"I'll see you at school, Tanuma."

She left the teenager behind so fast it made the boy's head spin, and as she hurried out, grabbing her bag and notes along the way, she couldn't bring herself to meet Tanuma's eyes. Not whilst she was so clearly shutting him off from this part of her life.

"Natsume!"

"So! I'll see you later, shall I? Good luck with the rest of the summer homework!" She muttered, now half-running towards the exit, completely avoiding her friend's hurt gaze. "Sensei, I expect you back tonight _without_ alcohol on your breath this time."

* * *

Tanuma (the younger) stared in disbelief as the girl he had come to consider as his first friend practically scrambled out of the room to avoid him. What had just happened? Did he offend her in some way by admitting that he disliked Natori Shuuichi, despite his overflowing (and overbearing) charisma? He hadn't pegged Natsume to be that sort of girl, but one never could be sure with women. After all, he hadn't really spoken to any women since his mother had… left. So many years ago.

"Hmph. It would be better for you to leave Natsume alone about this part of her life." The pudgy cat that Natsume called 'sensei' (and he had mentally renamed Ponta to save himself the embarrassment of having to call a feline his teacher) drawled, a lazy easiness oozing from his pores. "She has enough to worry about without having your safety adding to her burdens."

"My safety? I don't need her to be concerned for my safety at all – I can take care of myself, just like before I met Natsume, before any of this." Agitation crept into his voice, his claims gaining more volume than he had intended.

"Yes. Because before you met Natsume, you were not powerful enough for the weaklings to sense your awareness or for those of higher rank to want to eat you. All of that is still true, since meeting with Natsume, with the addition of one small detail. You are an attachment to Natsume, who registers quite highly amongst the spirits of this area. It is only a matter of time before something uses you and Natsume's… _ties_… with you to make a deal that she will not refuse." Here, the pudgy cat bared its fangs at him, the feline's narrowed pupils darkening dangerously, "And I do not intend for her to make the _wrong choice_ if that situation ever happens."

"Wh… what do you mean?"

"Only that, if you manage to get into a situation that forces Natsume to choose between her life and yours, I will make sure that you are not the one who walks out of the situation." The cat shot another glare into Tanuma's eyes, and for the first time, he thought he might have caught a glimpse of the _maneki neko_'s true form. "Natsume is far too soft-hearted… or soft in the head… to choose her own life over another's, so it falls to me to get rid of anything that might force her to make that decision. It's been so long… I do wonder if the taste of human has changed at all in the last century or so?"

Tanuma could only gape as the cat made his threats known. Somehow, Tanuma sensed that Ponta would quite happily (and probably with gusto) carry those threats through without hesitation.

"I don't think Natsume would be happy about that, if it did come to pass." He stated frankly, returning the glare.

Eventually, it was Ponta who broke the glare contest.

"No. She wouldn't. But it's not in my interests to do what makes her _happy_. It's in my interests to make sure she doesn't get eaten by a _youkai_ other than myself."

With that last parting blow, the cat phased out of its usual form, and disappeared from Tanuma's limited sight. Sitting back up, Tanuma felt a breeze, contrarily gentle compared to its source, blow open and through the screen door, disturbing the reflection of the supernatural pond on the ceiling for a few moments. _I wanted to say that you're probably just being overprotective of Natsume because you care, but then again, I would like to continue living_, Tanuma mused, fighting to keep an entirely inappropriate grin off his face.

But, no matter how amusing he found Ponta's protection of his young charge, he still couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment at Natsume's secrecy about the world that he could barely touch – a world that, until recently, had him convinced that he must be a little touched in the head.

A world that he wanted to explore.

_Someday. Someday soon._

* * *

Natsume hurried along the road towards home, tears threatening to blur her vision. This 'friendship' business was much harder than she had expected – it introduced so many new emotions into the already-confusing teenage cocktail that she could really do without. After all, she didn't think that _normal_ teenage girls would be worried about being eaten on a daily basis, or if something was going to attack her to get to a tattered old book, or how to acquire ink that held spiritual energy in order to write their own _ofuda _charms.

Takako had only felt this level of guilt when she hid her _youkai_ activities from the Fujiwara couple, and even then she could justify it as protecting them from the ugly truth; trying to apply that reason to Tanuma was like saying that people who were born with disabilities shouldn't be allowed to have a proper education – wrong on so many levels. After all, he _had_ survived thus far, even without her enhanced sight, without being eaten, chased or being threatened by various supernatural beings every other day or so.

But maybe that was because they never knew that Tanuma even noticed their existence. And the more time Tanuma spent with her, the more tangled he would become in the world of _youkai_. It wasn't a fate that she would even wish on her worst enemies (_probably because all of my enemies are from the youkai world themselves_, she mused), and she certainly didn't want it to befall a friend. The first who even had the slightest inkling of power, who could empathise with what she felt every single day.

As she walked along the road home, she passed by the gates of the Nishikawa family, who had founded the school she attended – probably the only really well-to-do family in the area, they had a house that was three times the size of Takako's current residence at the Fujwaras', as well as impressive reconstructions from the original Meiji architecture. From an art perspective, even Natsume had been suitably star-struck by the majesty and imperiousness of the building. However, from her own, personal experience…

_Spirits tend to hang around older buildings, since they were usually their old haunts. Especially in richer buildings, since many humans used to invite spirits into their homes to bring prosperity, safety, all sorts of things, under their roof._ She recalled one of the rare glimpses into the spirit world that Nyanko-sensei had given her, as a cautionary warning against visiting some of the older houses in the area. Since that particular warning, she had been rather more careful around traditional-style buildings, even if they were newly built.

Looking ahead, she had a momentary freeze, before forcing her eyes to stare emotionlessly, unseeingly ahead.

_Don't let them know that you can see them. If they're weak enough, they'll fall for your bluff._

She walked past a figure dressed in a kimono and a dark _haori_, with a horned mask covering their features. The figure had an aimless gait, the body language radiating apathy, not even caring about the rope that had chafed their skin around their neck. Keeping her gaze straight ahead, Takako walked forward, her face passive and unreacting.

Until she saw the bandages.

"Hey, do you want some help with that?" _Idiot! What do you think you're doing?_ Oh great – she had developed an inner voice that sounded disturbingly like Nyanko-sensei.

Damn conscience.

The figure, who was almost certainly _ayakashi_, stopped. A powerful, feminine voice bit out, "Do not interfere in matters that do not concern you, child of humans."

And continued on.

Despite the relief that washed over her that the encounter had not turned unpleasant, Takako's stomach clenched in guilt. _I should have helped her to fix her bandages, at least._

Well, the way she spoke, and the look of the frayed rope around her neck, it wasn't likely that she was going anywhere anytime soon. Takako tried to ease her twisting conscience with the comfort that the _ayakashi_ would probably still be there the next time she took that particular route to Tanuma's house.

_If he ever wants to speak to you again, after how you snubbed him._ Her Nyanko-sensei-like internal voice hissed maliciously, sending another guilty shiver down her spine. This friendship business was not what she had thought it would be – she had not expected that she would be so plagued by insecurity, guilt, pain.

"Ah, Takako-_chan_! I wasn't expecting you until later on – did you get your study session over with so soon? Did anything happen?" Tohko-_san_, in her usual mothering style, smiled gently at Natsume, her eyes crinkling into well-defined laughter lines, a hand extended to Natsume, an offer of safety, comfort, warmth.

Of course, the negatives were so heavily outweighed by the positives of her new-found relationships. Takako took Tohko-_san_'s hand, gripped it a little tighter than was necessary, and gave a small smile back, grateful that her guardian did not ask any further questions as she let the tears pour out from her accursed, topaz eyes.

* * *

Several hugs, three cups of tea and two offers of 'giving that young man a good talking to' later, Takako had retired to her room, with a fourth cup of tea on her study desk and an assurance from both Tohko-_san_ and (surprisingly) Shigeru-_san_ that they were just downstairs, if she wanted to talk about why she had come back from the Tanuma's house in tears. Thinking back now, Takako felt her face flushing rather rapidly – she hadn't cried over something like this in over ten years – since her father had passed away, really. And over something so silly!

She had always thought that being able to see things that were not human would mean that she wouldn't get the whole puberty mood-swing thing that she had seen in so many of her classmates when she was in Junior High (all four of them). Apparently, she had no such luck – she was just a late-developer.

Shoot.

Sighing, she shut her bedroom window, and stuck her new _ofuda_ charms onto the windowsill, having determined that sensei was definitely not coming back tonight from drinking (or whatever he did during those moon viewing parties – the last time he came back from one particular gathering, she had somehow ended up as the leader of the entire Yatsuhara Fields group). Then again, if Nyanko-_sensei_ did decide to come back in the middle of the night, at least the _ofuda_ might do something against the wolf-in-cat's-clothing, and teach him never to interrupt a teenager's sleep again.

Of course, the _ofuda_ wouldn't block those who would come to ask for their Names back, although it would prevent them from entering without permission (Natsume suppressed a shiver as she recalled one particularly pushy _bakeneko_ called Kawaragi, who had woken her up by licking her face, then calling her delicious). She really didn't want a repeat of _that_ particular moment. Assured of her safety, and that of her guardians, the young girl went about her nightly routine to get ready for bed.

That was the last time she was quite so careless about the small print attached to these _ofuda_.

It was well past midnight when she first heard it. The barest scratching and rustling, coming from downstairs. Too faint for most to hear it, but when one was as used to _ayakashi_ surprise attacks as Natsume was, one became a very light sleeper, very quickly, if one wanted to live. Getting out of her futon, and stepping around the three creaky floorboards to avoid waking the Fujiwara couple up as well, Takako checked her window first – the _ofuda_ were still attached, and were not giving any signals that any intruders were in the house.

_Was it just my imagination then…?_

The dry, rustling noise came again. This time, it sounded closer – like it was coming up the stairs.

_But the charms should be effective on the whole house._ Takako frowned, but opened her screen door by just an inch to peek outside onto the landing. _See, just my imagi… what on Earth is that!?_

A white, flapping humanoid figure that looked as if it were made out of paper was making its way up to the landing by the stairs. Without taking any time to take a closer look, Takako slammed her screen door shut, grabbed another _ofuda_ charm and stuck it to her door, hoping that it would deter the strange _youkai_ from entering.

She really should have learned by now – never 'hope' for anything. It didn't usually get any results.

As the first corner of the white figure managed to squeeze itself through the tiny space between the door. Takako noted with a sort of crazed calmness that her mysterious rustling intruder was made entirely of paper, and had no facial features, let alone a mouth to eat her with.

She glanced down at her floor, which had a long, fairly deep scratch on it where the paper intruder was dragging along now. Then again, paper cuts _that_ deep weren't exactly a walk in the park either. It took Natsume less than a second to make the decision to run.

_Well, at least I'm doing one normal teenage thing. _Natsume thought hysterically, pulling open the window and grabbing her slippers, _I'm sneaking out through the window pretty regularly._ With that final thought, and hearing the tearing of her _ofuda_ charm, she launched herself into the clear, summer's night, hitting the ground running. Glancing behind her, Takako's stomach twisted as she saw the creature still aiming for her. The adrenaline rush that filled her muscles pushed her to make a run, as fast as possible, as _far_ as possible away from the Fujiwara household.

_Why is it chasing me? What on Earth am I talking about? It almost definitely wants to eat me._ If she had the spare energy, she would have rolled her eyes.

She ran towards the forest next to the house – it was thick enough with bushes and branches that the piece of paper would _surely_ be shredded, or at least be delayed by some sort of obstacle. She felt the branches snagging at her pyjamas, tearing the cotton. She almost felt some sort of embarrassment at her state of undress, but who could be around at this point in time of night?

She took another glance behind, slowing down just the smallest of fractions. In retrospect, that was probably her biggest mistake. As the paper creature wrapped around her, restricting her ribcage and preventing her from breathing properly, she managed to stumble out onto the other side of the forest, where a burst of desperate energy managed to repel and shred the paper monster into confetti, allowing Natsume to take in several gasps of air, almost choking on the oxygen rushing through her lungs again.

Someone cleared their throat. Rather pointedly.

_Oh for the love of… what did I do in a past life to have this much bad karma…?_

Glancing upwards, and scrambling to her feet, Takako took in the face of the man, and took note that, with a car behind him and the keys in his hand, he was most probably human. Under normal circumstances, she would have been quite glad of this – after all, _youkai_ did tend to avoid humans, and finding other humans usually deterred the _youkai_ for a few moments for her to get a bit of distance between them.

However, being an underage, underdressed and thoroughly flustered girl and running from something most humans couldn't see was _not_ a normal circumstance. _How am I going to talk myself out of this one?_

"A problem, little lady?"

"No problem, sir. None at all." Natsume lied smoothly, a genial smile taking its place on her features.

"Just felt like a midnight stroll, then?"

Takako kept silent. After all, what else could she say?

The man bent down and picked up something. Something that looked suspiciously like… "So, I take it that you can't see this and that you weren't running from it?" A piece of the destroyed paper monster was waved in front of her nose.

Takako knew she was gaping with a rather dumbfounded look on her face. She knew it was rude, and probably made her look more of a fool than she had sounded earlier. She couldn't find it in herself to really care.

"Er… that is to say… er…" _Say something! Anything!_ "Er…" _A sentence? A word? _"Pardon?"

"Oh my, do you not recognise me, Natsume-_chan_?"

She reacted to the phrase before she realised the implication behind the sentence, "Don't call me '-_chan_'." Then, the realisation hit, "And no, I'm afraid not. However, you obviously know me, stranger-_san_. And you know about what _that_ thing is."

"Oh dear, how rude! Not at all like our first meeting – _that thing_ takes quite a bit of effort to make, you know."

"I wouldn't know – I was too busy trying to avoid it crushing me like an insect to really notice the work that goes into making it." Natsume frowned, "Who are you?"

"You recognised me just fine yesterday morning, when you tripped over me so unceremoniously." The stranger removed his hat and glasses, and flashed a disturbingly shining smile in her direction, "It's me, Natori Shuuichi – the actor."

Natsume choked a little on her own saliva.

* * *

Five minutes and a coat later (Takako had refused point blank to get into the car with the guy, no matter how innocent his smile was) they were settled on a fallen log, Takako having seated herself as far away as possible from the man who displayed a disturbing amount of knowledge on her and her ability to see. Although Nyanko-_sensei_ had never said it outright, Takako knew that her grandmother Reiko had had contact with others like her, and that they had not parted on amiable terms. _But he never mentioned whether or not those people knew about the Book of Friends_, Natsume thought, keeping a keen eye on the still-smiling Natori. Then, she had a rather dry thought, _I'd better not mention this to Jun – she'd lynch me and make it look like an accident if she found out I had a midnight rendez-vous with her current fan-girl crush_.

"Why so wary, Natsume-_chan_?"

"Did you send the paper monster?"

"Was I too subtle for you, little lady?"

"Hardly – I just need confirmation. Did you send the paper monster, and how did it manage to get past my _ofuda_?"

"That's what the delay was – I had really expected you here sooner. Those _ofuda_ that the old monk has you making only keeps out ill intent – I obviously bear no ill intent."

"Sending that thing to invade my home and try to crush my ribs wasn't ill intent?"

"Touché. It wouldn't have done anything to you if you hadn't run – it only responded to your reactions."

"Look, I don't have to sit here and listen to your criticism – I should really be getting back home and into bed, where I'm meant to be, instead of talking to some stranger in the middle of nowhere."

"And yet you've sat there and verbally sparred with me for more than ten minutes now. Why did you not leave sooner?"

She had no answer. She glanced again at the strange actor's face. It was still just as handsome as she remembered, and his eyes still just as untrustworthy. However, on the side of his neck… _that definitely wasn't there this afternoon. Did he get a tattoo? But there isn't anywhere nearby you can get a tattoo at around here…_

And then, the small black lizard she had been staring at shifted, and crawled across the man's face onto the bridge of his nose.

Natsume couldn't help it. She would always deny it later, but the sound that escaped from her voicebox was _definitely _a shriek.

"Wow – I knew that you could see, but I didn't expect you to be able to see this much, and without aids." Natori marvelled, peering down at her, "How extraordinary."

"Doesn't… does that not hurt, at all? What is it?"

"It's a secret." He winked at her, sending another shiver up her spine, "But one I'm willing to tell you when I've got a little more free time."

Takako narrowed her eyes in suspicion; although she had little experience in these matters, that last line sounded rather like a… "Are you coming onto me, sir?"

A pregnant pause hung between the two figures, before the taller of the two doubled over in uncontrolled laughter, leaving Natsume to feel a flush creeping up onto her face as the embarrassment of what she had just said hit home.

"That's the most modern phrase I've heard you say since we first met, Natsume-_chan_."

"Don't be so familiar with me, if you please." Takako snapped, her embarrassment only fuelling her irritability, "And you can hardly blame me for the thought." She was telling the truth there – after all, it was the middle of the night, and she was dressed in nothing but her nightclothes and the heavy trench coat that the man had lent her earlier. From an outsider's viewpoint, this situation really did look rather questionable.

"True – this is true." Natori coughed out between chuckles, finally straightening back up, "I apologise for that – it was uncalled for. It was just an innocent invitation. In all honesty, I wasn't even sure if you were human until the other day, when I realised that others could see you, and that you could enter hallowed grounds, I determined that you must have been human. But, since the feeling I got from you was so alike to a _youkai_, I decided to conduct a little test, just to see if you could also see this." At this, Natori waved a piece of the torn paper-creature in front of Takako.

"We are of the same kind, carved from the same mould, child."

* * *

It had been a week since her midnight confrontation with the man who called himself 'her kind', and it was only the coat that she had hidden away in the corner of her wardrobe that assured her that it wasn't an emotion-driven dream. She had thought about talking to Nyanko-sensei regarding the encounter, but the damned cat still hadn't come back from his drinking party for her to even attempt to talk to him about it.

The summer's warm hold on the air had dissipated, and as she walked towards school in her summer uniform, Takako felt the bite of autumn in the wind, smelt the beginnings of death and decay coming from the surrounding plants, the stagnancy of summer finally shifting away. Takako breathed deeply, relaxing in the quiet moment, and allowing herself to savour the changing season.

"Natsume-_san_!"

So much for 'savouring' the changing of seasons.

"Kitamoto-_san_, how was your summer?" She asked politely, genuine happiness creeping into her tone, as she greeted her classmate for the first time in over a month, "How was the Kansai region?"

"Boiling hot and so humid I thought I was going to drown by breathing." The tall teenager quipped, falling into step next to Takako, "How were things here all summer?"

"A sight more comfortable than what it's like in the south, apparently."

"So then? What did you do all summer? Got all the homework done? I know that you and Tanuma were planning on doing all of it together."

Here, Natsume went deathly silent – she still hadn't spoken to Tanuma since she ran out of his house a week earlier, and she hadn't managed to work up the courage yet to go back and talk things out. And, since Tanuma hadn't tried to contact her either, she had lost even more confidence in where she stood with her first human friend.

Luckily, Kitamoto appeared to pick up on her awkwardness, "I take it something happened?"

"Well… yes."

"Did he confess or did you?"

The shock that the statement had instilled managed to completely shake the sleep from her mind, "What? Wh… huh?"

"Sasada owes me two hundred yen – she said that you'd always have a comeback, no matter what the situation." Kitamoto smirked, "But seriously, it isn't that, is it?"

"No! Just… no!"

"Oh – good. That would have been _really_ awkward to try and sort out then. So, things were said and feelings were hurt, that sort of thing?"

"More or less." Well, it was more like the things that were _not_ said that hurt feelings, but she was hardly going to quibble the little details.

"I know that you're a bit of an introvert, Natsume-_san_, and I'm not going to ask any questions about your past experiences with people, but it was obviously with the wrong sort." Kitamoto quipped, his voice slightly strained, "But speaking as a decent human being, I'd say that Tanuma is probably waiting for you to make the first move as well. And, until either of the two of you speak to the other, this thing is going to go on longer and longer and eventually, the wedge will have been driven so far in between the two of you that it'll be next to impossible to budge it in the next two years."

Natsume was silent as she digested what her classmate had just told her. It was true that this really was the first time when she had a relationship that she really _wanted_ to fix, and had the opportunity to do so. Smiling a small, but genuine, smile at Kitamoto, she uttered a heartfelt, "Thank you for the advice, Kitamoto-_san_." And she ran off to the bus station to try and meet her friend (and what a thrill it was to call someone that!) as he arrived, and felt the burden she had unknowingly been carrying around with her fall off from her shoulders, allowing her to breathe easily again.

* * *

"Oh my – I didn't realise she could run so fast. Maybe I should push her to try out for the prefecture track team." From behind a bush, one Sasada Jun popped up, shaking the leaves from her hair and uniform, not even bothering to hide her eavesdropping habits from her childhood friend.

"I'm sure I've said this before, but you really should fix that habit of yours. Most people would feel insulted." Kitamoto told her, although his tone spoke volumes about how many unsuccessful attempts at this particular conversation had been made before. "And I could have told you about her speed – she can outrun most of us guys. Didn't I tell you about how Nishimura and I first met her?"

"Tell me later – since when did you become so mature about these things? I thought for sure I was going to have to fix whatever damage you did to her later or something." She joked as she fell into step next to her tall friend, noting that his neck was sporting an angry red sunburn.

"Well, if you'd let Nishimura and me actually speak a whole sentence once in a while…" Kitamoto bantered playfully, laughing as he saw the way Sasada puffed up defensively at his jibe.

Oh yes – this term was definitely looking promising.

* * *

"Hold on – Nyanko-sensei… _threatened_ you? Physically? That pig-cat creature that barely weighs more than your book bag?" Natsume asked incredulously, having blurted a rather garbled apology to Tanuma (after almost knocking him over onto the ground from trying to use him as a braking mechanism) and obtaining an equally garbled acceptance/apology/something about a threat. Once the two awkward teens had made their peace, and realised exactly how silly they had been acting, they had collapsed in a heap, in front of the bus station, in absolute hysterics as they laughed out their relief at their intact friendship ties.

"Hey! You live with him – you of all people should know how terrifying he can be!"

"The cat that I hit over the head every other conversation? That one?"

"And it wasn't a threat – he said it was a promise."

"_Nyanko-sensei_? The idiot who can't even keep out of a _sake_ cup for longer than five days? _That_ Nyanko-sensei?"

"Yes, that one! Oh for… quit laughing!"

* * *

It happened during Maths – one of the less pleasant classes that she had to take. Having come to the conclusion that, no matter how hard she stared at the blackboard, the 'x's and 'y's and triangles and sines and cosines weren't going to magically make sense, Natsume had taken to staring out of the window as the teacher droned on about 'proofs'. After reconciling with Tanuma, and confirming with him that Nyanko-sensei had, indeed, gone over to the Yatsuhara Fields and had passed out from the ensuing party, Takako found herself at such peace that she couldn't quite bring herself to really concentrate on anything her teachers were saying, outside of 'please hand in your summer homework'.

The view from the window seat afforded her a good view of the overgrown fields where she had met Natori Shuuichi so suddenly. _It's been a week… maybe he's forgotten about me…?_ Even though the Nyanko-sensei voice at the back of her mind was saying 'good riddance!' the overriding feeling she had was disappointment.

_Just when I thought there would be someone I can get answers about this ability from… he even called me 'his kind'. So much for _that_ thought_. Natsume fumed silently, a little put out by the man's broken promise of explanations.

Then, a black curtain fell down from the top of the window, obscuring her view of the fields. A gaunt, pale face soon followed, its neck hideously twisted, looking a bit too much like something out of a horror film, "Natsume-_dono_?"

Takako really didn't think it was fair of the Maths teacher to send her to stand outside because she had shrieked a little.

* * *

"So, have you greeted her?"

"Yes, Master Natori, but I did not have the opportunity to ask her to meet you before she left the room."

"Well, it is a school day, so she won't be free anyway for another three hours." The young master of the Natori family settled back in his car, and prepared to wait a little longer before trying to recruit one Natsume Takako.

_Really, it is very fortunate that the Matoba family hasn't looked in this direction in more than thirty years – otherwise I wouldn't have such a golden opportunity on my hands_. Shuuichi thought to himself, a faint smirk painting his face as he watched the black lizard birthmark crawl from his wrist to under his sleeve.

A golden opportunity that he did not intend to waste.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Oh dear - this has been such a long time in coming! I am so sorry to people who are continuing to read and review this story! Thank you so much for your reviews and continued support - if you're reading and haven't reviewed yet, please do! I'm just looking for some constructive criticism (but not flamers, if you please)._

_I wanted to get the whole Natori episode into this chapter, but because the relationship I want them to have is a bit more complex than in the original, I felt the need to break it down a little._

_I would love to be able to promise faster updates, but looking at the amount of work I need to do in the next semester, on top of looking for a new (affordable) flat and dissertation work AND my part time job, this really is being pushed out under the influence of coffee and the spirit of procrastination._

_Thank you for your reviews and encouragement! I will try and update by February 10th (Chinese New Year!)_

_Fiametta_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Natsume Yuujinchou is a brilliant and beautiful concept, and therefore cannot be mine. Please, give me you pity._

**_Warning: Some implied thoughts on suicide. It's only a brief mention, but if you don't feel comfortable with the concept, please don't force yourself to read__ on._**

**Chapter 6 –In which Takako refuses to be weak**

It had been a while since anything had been able to shock her into a physical reaction – the Yatsuhara bunch had made sure to keep _youkai_ from disturbing her whilst she was at school – so the appearance of the long-haired _youkai_ had shocked her rather more than she cared to admit. Of course, after half an hour of standing in the corridor, followed by a ten minute lecture by the teacher (who, thankfully, put it down to an anaemia-induced nap that led to a nightmare) had left Takako absolutely _fuming_.

_Calm down, girl. Think carefully. That _ayakashi_ managed to get past the Yatsuhara group, who aren't weaklings by any standards, and certainly stronger than any Nameless _youkai_… which begs the question, what was it doing here? And how did it know my name…?_

"Ah! Here's the screaming princess!" Nishimura greeted her with a lopsided grin, and waved her over to her desk, where Sasada, Kitamoto and Tanuma had gathered. "What did _sensei_ say?"

"The usual – sleep on time, eat more, stop dieting… as if Tohko-_san_ would even let me entertain the notion of dieting." Natsume muttered good-naturedly, although part of her felt a pang as she realised that the school might report this to the Fujiwara couple if it happened too often, "So? Why's everyone gathered around here? I doubt it's too see if I've survived yet another trip to the teachers' office."

"Natsume! Oh my… Natsume!" Sasada's eyes were strangely sparkling, and her voice had a type of breathlessness to it that Takako had learnt to associate with Nyanko-sensei when he talked about drinking alcohol, "He… he's here!"

"Who's here?"

"Him! Who else, him!" With that, Sasada yanked Takako by the hand over to the window, whilst shoving Nishimura away. Both man-handled teens protested, stumbled, but eventually acquiesced to their class captain's demands.

Looking outside, Natsume's breath caught in her throat. _Speak of the devil…_ outside the school gates, one Natori Shuuichi stood, leaning against a rather expensive-looking car, looking rather handsome in a nonchalant way. If Takako didn't know better, she would have sworn that there were roses and sparkling lights painted in the immediate areas surrounding the flashy actor.

Then, the man did something that almost made Natsume throw their science textbook at the infuriating man. He turned, made eye contact with her, and waved, showing a smile worthy of someone in show business.

_Why that… Sasada is going to murder me!_

"Natsume… did Natori Shuuichi just… wave… at you?" The strangely controlled voice came from Sasada, putting Natsume on guard.

"Er… well… sort of…? He was hanging around Tanuma's over the summer – I met him once by chance there."

"And you never thought to tell me? I cannot believe you!"

"What I can't believe is how rabid she gets when she talks about her latest celebrity crush." Kitamoto whispered to the other two boys in the group, who both stifled derisive snorts (out of self-preservation more than anything else).

"He could have been waving to Tanuma! He probably saw Tanuma a lot more than he saw me! Go interrogate him!"

"But he's a guy! I can't have a crush talk with a guy!"

"What? How does that make any sense?"

"It does to me, so it does to the world!"

Oh boy. It was going to be one of _those_ conversations. Grabbing a nearby chair, and her _bento_, Takako smiled as she listened to the rants of her usually calm and collected class captain, relishing the fact that she was surrounded by people who actually _wanted_ to be her friends.

_If this moment could last an eternity, I could pass on quite happily with no regrets_.

* * *

Unfortunately, that moment only lasted until the last bell rang, and people began to file out of the school grounds, laden with even more homework assignments and term projects – oh, the joys of being a student.

Inserting herself between Tanuma and Kitamoto as they passed through the front gates, she breathed a sigh of relief as they bypassed Natori's car without incident, and had almost relaxed completely as she walked through the town centre, ready to grab a couple of groceries that Tohko-_san_ had asked her to pick up after school. Just as she had picked up the chicken and was preparing to walk back to the house, she was stopped by a firm, insistent hand on her shoulders.

"Just where do you think you're going, little lady?"

_Shoot._

"Home, and away from strangers, sir. Please, kindly remove your hand before I scream assault."

"Oh dear – aren't we antagonistic today?" The hand was immediately removed, "But I thought that you might like some answers? As I promised, a short chat at a coffee shop somewhere should straighten things out."

"No thank you – I'm in enough trouble at school without having questionable relationships with a strange man to add to the list. Good day, sir." Hoping that that would do the trick, Natsume turned and walked towards her house, but from the soft footsteps that followed her own, she once again reminded herself that 'hope' was not an emotion strong enough to make wishes come true.

"Could you please walk a little further away from me? You're drawing far too much attention."

"Oh? I would have thought that a young girl like you would _like_ the attention?"

"If you can't leave me alone, could you at least put your glasses and hat on? I really don't want to draw a crowd." Takako pointedly ignored the man's comment on her feelings towards 'attention'. She had been on the receiving end of far too much of the wrong sort of attention to make her permanently wary of the stuff.

"But, even if I disguised myself, I'd still give out this magnificent aura."

The phrase was said so casually, so straightforwardly, that it froze Natsume in her tracks as she tried to process what the man had said. _Is he joking or is he really just a narcissist?_ Looking at the frank, straight face that the man was sporting, Natsume had to physically prevent herself from drawing back in shock_. His face is too straight for this to be a joke! My first encounter with a proper narcissist!_

"You know, that expression you're pulling is really rather offensive, Natsume-_chan_."

"Really? Oh good, I'm rather out of practice, so I was worried you might misunderstand my facial expressions."

"Wouldn't you like to know more about the world of _youkai,_ how to protect yourself, how to use your powers to help?"

And _that_ was what made her stop. _Maybe he could help me with the Book of Friends…?_

"… I'll listen."

* * *

As she watched the man opposite her from the top of her glass of apple juice, she noted that the man was justified (to a certain extent) in his narcissism; purely from an aesthetic view, she could see how he could use his devastatingly handsome features to gain the attention from any female. However, the black lizard that was crawling around from cheek to cheek on his face rather ruined the effect of aestheticism for Natsume.

"Well then? You said about being able to use my powers?"

"How cold – straight to business?" Natori smiled, steepling his fingers as he peered at her with a curious glint in his eyes, "I do wonder though… what's the extent of your ability to see? I already know that you're able to make charms that even have an effect on my own _shikigami_. Do you have any familial associations?"

"My… my grandmother was said to have the same ability to see _youkai_. I don't know if she had any other powers." Well, that wasn't strictly the truth – she had seen the power-infused rounders bat in the mementos left to her, and the Book of Friends was hardly obtained from friendliness and batting of eyelashes. _But I can't tell him about any of that – not until I know what his true motives are_.

"Well, that's not too surprising; like produces like, and all that jazz. It _is_ surprising though, that I don't recall a Natsume within the exorcist clans – affiliated or otherwise. And you must have had some instruction from someone other than Tanuma-_bouzu_, who, as skilled as he is, obtained his purifying powers through enlightenment rather than birth." As he spoke, Natori leaned forward, forcing Takako to flinch backwards a little, "Tell me, who is your teacher?"

"Tell me why you want me. From what you say, it seems that you know quite a few people with similar powers to mine. Why me, specifically?"

Natori paused, then chuckled with mirth. However, instead of transferring his humour to her, Natsume felt a chill travel up her spine – it was the laugh that a child would give when they found a new toy to play with.

"It's obvious that you underestimate yourself. From statistics alone, surely you must realise that those with our magnitude of power are few and far between, and we don't survive for very long without protection either." He leaned forward even more, and Natsume suddenly felt very trapped as she couldn't push away anymore into the seat, "Haven't you ever wondered why _youkai_ want to eat you so much? It's not because you really taste any better than normal humans – it's because they know that you're a threat to their existence, and so they pursue you to try and consume you and the threat you pose."

She slammed the table. Natsume couldn't take anymore. She ignored the fact that the cafe had gone deathly silent at the sound, and the protesting creak of the table from the amount of force she had put into that expression of her anger.

"Please, miss, don't do that – you'll have to break for any breakages." A worried waitress came rushing over, and immediately fell silent as she saw Natori, "Oh my goodness, Natori Shuuichi! I am such a huge fan!"

The commotion that that squeal generated proved to be Natsume's chance. She couldn't stand another moment in the presence of someone who was talking about things he obviously knew nothing about. _Sensei… I need to talk to Nyanko-sensei – he'll reassure me, he will, he definitely will…_

She refused to accept that all the _ayakashi_ she had met up until now – Nyanko-sensei, Misuzu, the Yatsuhara bunch – only kept her company out of fear of what she might do to them if they did not keep her happy.

_It's… I refuse to believe it!_

She made it as far as the outskirts of the town centre before a rope that felt disturbingly similar to human hair wrapped itself around her wrists and around her neck, restricting just enough to cut off her air supply without completely crushing her windpipe. Struggling for breath, she barely registered that Natori had entered her field of vision, his glasses shielding the emotion that lay within his eyes, and only managed one, gasped whisper,

"Sen… sensei…"

"Hmmf. I see that I can't even leave you alone for a single party, Natsume. Who's this clown?"

Takako couldn't reply to the mocking tone – the last of her breath had been taken by her call for Nyanko-sensei. And, as soon as she had oxygen in her brain again, she would feel grateful before she gave as good as she got.

"What… on earth is that?"

"Cocky brat – _begone_!" From her disappearing sight, she was blinded by the bright flash of light that emitted from Nyanko-sensei. Seconds later, the pressure around her windpipe was relieved rather hurriedly, and she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and gasped fresh oxygen into her lungs in large gulps.

"Who are these clowns, Natsume?" Nyanko-sensei's voice was intensely quiet, reflecting the seriousness of the situation. Takako tried to stand up, but rather failed to stay up for much longer than a few seconds – her oxygen deprived muscles, as well as the shock of the whole situation, had taken its toll on her body. "New friends?"

"I try not to make it a habit to befriend people or _youkai_ who try to strangle me every other time we meet." Natsume retorted, trying to work up the energy to actually be angry, "You _could_ have just asked me to stop, like any other normal person!"

"What on earth is that thing? Some kind of pig? Or a cat? What an ugly thing! Is it a stray?"

"Please, Natori-_san_ – this is just my cat. I want to know – what is so important that you're willing to half kill me when I decide that I don't _want_ your advice?" She asked, still sat on the ground since her legs still felt rather wobbly.

"Oh, sorry – I get distracted a little too easily, you see. But as I said before, your powers are the greatest I've encountered other than my own, and you're still untrained. It's a very… attractive prospect, for anyone of my profession."

"What, in show business?"

"No… acting is my career. My job, on the other hand, is being an exorcist of the Natori House."

She had less than a second to react to the sudden hiss and attempted attack from Nyanko-sensei, his claws extended and his body beginning to morph into the monstrous form that could easily swallow all of the actor in a single bite.

"Sensei! Stop it!" Natsume grabbed the scruff of the cat's neck, far harder than she ever had before. She could feel the angry tension under the deceptively soft disguise that the _youkai_ normally wore, which was continuously wavering from her sensei's lack of control at the moment, "You can't attack a human!"

"It'll be clean. Like clearing away _crumbs_." Nyanko-sensei growled, his eyes now flashing dangerously, "It's been a while, _dog_. Learnt any new tricks from your master?"

Natori's eyes were now shielded behind his glasses, obscuring Takako's view of the emotions reflected in his eyes. It was difficult enough to read the man even with clear eye contact; Natsume suppressed her own growl of frustration.

"I'm afraid that your information is outdated, fatso – the Natori family has long since disassociated itself from the Cursed House."

"Fa… fatso?" Nyanko-sensei exclaimed, suddenly shocked out of his anger.

If only _that_ had lasted.

"How dare you insult me so, you worthless human…!"

"You dare you call my master worthless?" A horned, curly-haired _youkai_ appeared from behind Natori, reaching out, apparently intent on strangling the cat. Without thinking, Takako placed herself in between the two _youkai_, a hand raised protectively against the approaching horned newcomer. "Out of the way, puny child!"

"Natsume! How many times have I told you not to jump in between me and my prey?" Nyanko-sensei cried, his aura and claws audibly withdrawing, with a sickening _shhhk_, "What if I eat you by accident?"

"You haven't yet, sensei, and I can always kick you unconscious if I needed to." Natsume quipped, before turning her attention back to Natori, "Well? I'm waiting for an explanation. Nyanko-sensei isn't someone who usually has such a strong reaction to anything."

"Do you usually do such dangerous things? Placing yourself between two warring _youkai_ isn't really the wisest of actions, especially when you're untrained."

"So that's your aim this time, _makeinu_? To get your claws into her before she knows anything?" Nyanko-sensei growled, having placed himself between Takako and Natori Shuuichi, "Leave her out of your politics! She belongs to us!"

Shocked at the territorial tone that her companion was displaying, Takako placed a calming hand on the nape of his neck, ready to restrain the deceptively small _youkai_, "Sensei – settle down. I belong to myself – not to you, not to this man. And, if I know nothing, then whose fault do you think that is?" She accused, poking firmly at the cat's forehead, trying to lighten the _ayakashi_'s mood. The cat immediately froze, and let out a sigh, along with the tension that had built up in its body.

"Fine. Say what you have to say, then leave. If you push anything, _makeinu_, be sure that I will eat you, pleas or no pleas from this _sakasama-san_ here."

The hesitant nod given from Natori seemed to satisfy Nyanko-sensei enough that he immediately turned to Natsume and demanded, "If we're really going to go through the whole story, then you'd better give me some _dango_ from Nanatsuji-ya, _sakasama_ Natsume."

* * *

A trip to the traditional Japanese sweets shop later, Natsume had settled on a bench next to Natori, who had the two _youkai_ behind him, standing vigil, whilst she let Nyanko-sensei lie on her lap, content with an entire box of sweet treats. She had deliberately set the box between her and Natori, and she was still tense, ready to spring into a run at the first sign of confrontation. The actor, if he noticed her posture, didn't acknowledge it overtly. Instead, the two humans sat in stony silence, with only the occasional grumble from the cat nestled between them.

"So? You said that you would give explanations – I find myself still waiting…" Natsume prompted, coldly polite in her tone, still wary of the man who seemed all too willing to employ any method in his arsenal to obtain what he wanted.

"As you know, I am Natori Shuuichi, but I was actually born under a different family name. My parents were a branch family of the Natori Family, which has been in the business of exorcism since the beginning of the Edo period. However, the family made so many alliances and negotiations that the blood diluted and the main family branch eventually lost the ability to see _youkai_. I am the first gifted person to be born into any of the Natori families, so I was taken in to be raised by the main branch – however, in the twenty-seven years that I've lived in that household, not a single person there really understood me and my mannerisms. I thought for a while that _youkai_ could fill the void that humans left inside my heart, but soon enough, they proved that they were just as quick to stab you in the back."

Natsume was, admittedly, rather shocked that the man was spilling his entire story to her with such little prompting. Her surprise must have shown in her expression, since Natori took a single look at her face, and gave a rather wry smile in her direction,

"It must be surprising, for me to spill my guts like this to someone I've just met, but as you may have gathered, that 'sensei' of yours knows of the Natori family. In my view, it would be better to give you a full account of the story from the point of view of someone similar to yourself."

"What, afraid that I'll give the _true_ account, _makeinu_?" Nyanko-sensei tried to sound threatening, but it was rather challenging to do so around a mouthful of sweet dumplings.

"I'll give a frank account, don't you worry, _maneki neko_. I'm hardly blind to the many flaws and indecencies that the family has tried to cover up over the years. There are two things that the Natori are known for – their skill with manipulating paper, and their complicated web of alliances that keep them protected when there's the absence of someone with the capability of becoming an exorcist within the family. The most important of those alliances is with a family known as the Matoba clan, otherwise known as the Cursed Ones for the dishonoured bargain their Head of House once had with a _youkai_."

"The Matobas kept the Natori family safe for two generations before I came along – long enough to have sown seeds and taken root, so to speak. The Matoba clan are… different from our family. They have many families such as ours under their so-called 'protection', and they rule them with an iron fist. My family is not 'under their thumb', so to speak, not since I came along. However, the elders of the family have been under Matoba rule for long enough that they've picked up some of the Cursed Clan's views on how to perform exorcisms, and since I am still accountable to the Elders' Council, it means that I must act according to their wishes."

Here, as his portion of dumplings had been exhausted, Nyanko-sensei jumped up and exclaimed, "What a fancy way of calling yourself an owned dog! So far, all you've done is give pretty words and butterfly mentions of what the real situation is, but… _mmph_!" He was cut off mid-rant by Takako shoving her untouched portion of sweet dumplings into his mouth.

_His bad eating habits do come in handy sometimes…_

"Sensei, if you have something to say, wait until the other person finishes. It's only polite. Don't make me use my fists to get my point across." Takako quipped, pushing the rest of her portion under the nose of the bottomless pit she called her teacher. "Please, continue, Natori-_san_."

"Thank you, Takako-_chan_."

"I've said before, I think, but I'd really prefer it if you would stop addressing me in such an intimate way. It's really very… uncomfortable for me."

"I apologise, Takako-_chan_."

Takako sighed in resignation – it seemed that nothing was going to persuade him to be more reserved with her. It was an uncomfortable situation for her – she had never had an unrelated male refer to her using the '-_chan_' honorific. In fact, not many women had called her that either, once she had reached the age to attend middle school. About the only person she really felt comfortable with calling her Takako-_chan_ was Tohko-_san_, whose motherly demeanour made it natural for her to call others by such familiar honorifics.

And yet, here was Natori Shuuichi, practically a complete stranger, addressing her as if he had known her for all her life.

"Fine, call me as you like. Tell the rest of your story and be done with it."

"Do you talk like this to all of your acquaintances, little lady? Because you're talking as if you were reading out of a literature textbook – it amazes me no end that you haven't picked up any slang from your schoolmates." Natori remarked, an amused smile playing at the corner of his lips. The tugging smile disappeared, however, when he observed the tensing in the Natsume's already-tense posture. "Ah, I see. Being able to see things that others cannot is a very isolating thing, is it?"

"I have… few friends, but the few I have can be counted upon as true ones, I believe." Natsume defended her situation, not liking the sympathy that danced within the man's eyes.

"Very well. I have already told you how the Natori and the Matoba are related – and you may have gathered from my tone that I… do not like having to answer their commissions. We have slightly different views on how _youkai_ and _shiki_ should be treated."

"_Shiki_?"

"The cat hasn't told you anything, has it? A _shiki_ is a bound _youkai_ who serves a human master, usually to gain freedom from a binding spell, or sometimes out of genuine respect for the human. After all, isn't that cat your _shiki_?"

"Nyanko-sensei is… Nyanko-sensei. Sometimes he's just a pain, but other times he's… an almost-friend." Natsume admitted, reaching a hand over to the _maneki neko_ and scratching behind his ears, eliciting a satisfied purring noise, "Besides, I released him without asking a boon in return and if he holds anything that resembles respect for me, I would consider that a miracle. He's staying with me to kill time, according to him."

Natori looked rather troubled by this, and picked up a dumpling from his portion tray, and dangled it in front of Nyanko-sensei's nose, wiggling it about. Predictably, the pseudo-feline's nose pricked to attention at the promise of another sweet treat. When the man threw the dumpling into the foliage into some nearby hedges, Natsume wondered if it would be bad form to want to bury her head in her hands out of embarrassment. _For a youkai whose been around for more than a century, Nyanko-sensei is ridiculously easy to manipulate._

"I really must express my concern, Takako-_chan_. I believe that you have been without your own company, _human_ company, for longer than is healthy. You speak of a _youkai_ as if they were friends." Here, Natori removed the glasses that had obscured his eyes for the entirety of the conversation, turning the full intensity of his own topaz gaze onto Natsume, "I believe that you would greatly benefit from spending some time with us, your true kind."

Natsume met his steady topaz gaze with one of her own. However, after a full minute, her defiant glare wavered slightly. She knew that there was some truth in what Natori was saying – after all, her special sight had isolated her from even 'normal' human company, and her first true friends had all been _youkai_.

But, was it because they really formed a connection of friendship, or was it because she had no one else to make a connection to?

Natori was obviously quite pleased with this as a concession, if not a victory for his arguments. "I understand that you want to think of the _youkai_ in your acquaintance as friends, but as I have said before, I have found that _youkai_ are just like humans. They will betray and hate and hold grudges just as well as humans can. The difference is that they possess none of the morals that humans learn as children – they will not hesitate to eat you and yours, if they feel like it."

Having said his piece, Natori Shuuichi rose from the bench, just as Nyanko-sensei was returning from a successful dumpling-scavenge. Before he left, he placed a small business card with a scribbled number on it, and informed Natsume, "If you have anything you want to say to me about _youkai_, or anything that pops up that you're not sure how to handle, give that number a call. It's my… out-of-hours business, shall we say, and you can be sure that I'll pick up immediately."

And with that, he left, taking his black kimono-clad _shiki_ with him into the autumn breeze.

"Hey, Natsume."

"What is it, sensei?"

"You… you didn't mention the Book to him at all, did you?"

As if to reassure herself, Takako placed a trembling hand over the small bag that had become a small extension on all of her clothes, and felt the reassuring thrum and trill of the Book singing its song to her, whispering the Names into her hand. "No, I did not."

_And I will not. Not if that's how he views _youkai _and_ ayakashi._ I cannot allow him to know about the Book._

"Hey, _sakasama_ – your expression looks terrible. Like you're about to start weeping."

"Really?" Takako was surprised to find that she did, indeed, have a tell-tale lump in her throat, threatening to spill over into her eyes as tears, "Huh – not sure why."

"Hmph. Do as you like – just make sure that you get that chicken back to the house before it goes off." The cat grumbled. If he could smell the lie that Takako had just told, then he wasn't probing any further.

"Come on, Nyanko-sensei. We'd better get home before Tohko-_san_ starts worrying too much."

* * *

Passing by the Nishikawa manor again, this time with Nyanko-sensei in tow, Takako started at seeing the tied _youkai_ again, still clad in the same drab kimono, still with the loosened bandages cladding its arm. This time, however, Natsume did not hesitate.

"Hey, you." As the _youkai _came to halt, and turned its masked face towards her own unmasked one, she spoke before the _youkai _had a chance to refuse her, "Your bandages. They've been bothering me for a while now – would you let me just fix them for you?"

"Natsume, you idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to not to go around the streets talking to every random _youkai_ and _ayakashi_ you meet?"

Takako's answer to that was a firm knock on the cat's head, effectively silencing any further complaints, "Ignore the pig-cat. Here – I swear I just want to fix your bandages for you."

She could see the hesitation in the _youkai's_ stance. She couldn't help but smile slightly (but genuinely) as a slender arm was given to her, clearly giving her permission to do as she wanted.

"I am Natsume. Natsume Takako." She didn't ask for a name in return – she had learnt that unless the _youkai_ wished it, then they would not provide their Name, no matter how much you asked.

They settled down on the steps of the Nishikawa back entrance, where Natsume went about fixing the _youkai_'s bandages. As she straightened the bandages and tightened them a little more, she noticed the chafe marks on her neck, as well as scars littering both her hands. "What happened here, do you mind telling me?"

"There is not much to tell. I was bound to the warehouse by a priest of uncanny power who was testing it at the time, and was told to guard it. These marks are from a time when I still cared enough to want to escape, but the further I go from the house, the tighter the rope become. After some time, I stopped caring. I even tried to deliberately stray too far from the house in the hope that the rope would sever my head from my body without too much pain, but that failed as well. For such a long, long time I did nothing. A short while ago, someone opened the warehouse I guarded, so I did my duty and banished the intruders."

Takako didn't know what to say to comfort the _youkai_, so she settled for placing a hand on top of the _youkai'_s scarred one. As the _youkai _saw her attempt to offer comfort, Takako fancied that she could see a faint smile beneath the mask.

"You remind me of a child. A human child, from many seasons ago, who held the same sad expressions in his eyes. And now, the same child has returned to this house, hired as an exorcist to rid the house of me."

_An exorcist…?_

"Are you… are you talking about Natori Shuuichi, by any chance?"

"Yes. You have met him, child of humans?"

"In a manner of speaking… it's a passing acquaintance of sorts. He… you say that you've met him?"

"Indeed. It was he who tied these bandages for me first."

_So, Natori was not entirely truthful with me about his attitude towards _youkai._ There was obviously a time when he thought differently to how he does now, if he tried to help this one. _Then, Natsume realised the full implications of what the _youkai_ just said, "Wait, did you just say he's been _hired_ by the Nishikawas? As an exorcist?"

"Yes. I tire of this world. I just wish to be alone, by any means necessary."

* * *

Those sad, sad words echoed in amongst all of Natsume's other thoughts as she busied herself in her normal evening activities of helping Tohko-_san_ in the kitchen with cooking and cleaning up. As the familiarity of routine set in, the lonely sentiment that the _youkai_ had confided in her earlier in the day became nothing more than a whisper into the night.

But, in the night, when her conscious was asleep and her defences were down, the whisper grew in volume, into a yell, polluting her dreams. That night, not even Nyanko-sensei managed to sleep through her tossing and turning.

_Liar…_

_I'm not lying…_

_Stop lying, you horrible child!_

_But I'm not lying! Please, believe me…_

_Liars should just disappear!_

_Yeah! Disappear! Nobody wants you!_

_Somebody! Anybody! Please, believe me!_

_Liar._

_I want to be alone. Leave me alone!_

* * *

Madara was less than pleased at the pathetic whimpers and cries coming from the weak human girl that he was accompanying for now to appease his boredom. Watching her tense expression as she tossed about from whatever nightmare she was having, no doubt brought on by that thoughtless comment made by the spirit they had encountered earlier, Madara wondered how on earth this child could possibly be related to Reiko, whose confidence was only matched by the volume of her spiritual power.

And yet, the evidence of power was there – it was strangely weakened, but it was there. From the months that he had stayed in her presence, Madara had deduced that there was some sort of seal on the human brat, and it stank of Reiko's work as well. The girl _had_ mentioned before that neither of her parents possessed any spiritual powers, so it was possible that Reiko had placed a seal on her bloodline, binding the spiritual powers of her first generation, but it had obviously weakened by the second generation, allowing her granddaughter to access her spiritual powers, at least to the extent of being able to see and communicate with spirits.

The seal was flawed though – the more contact Takako was having with _youkai_, the more Madara could sense that seal was crumbling. Pretty soon, he was going to have a fully powered human with next to no training on his hands, which made for a dangerous combination.

_I can't afford for the humans to try for her – not like they did with Reiko. _Snorting a little, the _ayakashi_ shifted into his original, giant form, and surrounded the small futon where his human lay in fitful dreams. _I'd better start teaching her something useful, so she has some sort of defense against those vultures in human form. _Breathing gently upon her brow, he gathered himself a little closer to the brat, and went back to sleep.

The furrows on Takako's brow smoothed out as both human and _ayakashi_ drifted into the realms of peaceful slumber.

They stayed in that position for the rest of the night. As they had done for many nights in the last few months.

* * *

The next morning, Natsume awoke feeling far more refreshed than she thought she would be, what with the nightmare she had earlier. The sentiment expressed by the _youkai_ she had encountered unearthed some rather unhappy memories of her own, from her childhood, when all she had wished for was to be somewhere, anywhere away from the people she had been staying with at the time.

She understood better than she wanted to about how the _youkai_ felt.

Trapped.

Helpless.

_Weak_.

She had to tell Natori.

"_The number you have dialled is not available. Please call again later, or send a te…_" So much for 'pick up immediately'. Refusing to give into the temptation to slam the phone down in disgust and frustration, Takako thanked whatever force was listening that it was a Sunday, and therefore she wasn't going to be forced to skip another day of school because of… extracurricular activities. She was already going to have enough marks on her record because of her constant outbursts and falling asleep in one too many classes.

The aftermath of parents' evening was going to be… interesting.

"Tohko-_san_, Shigeru-_san_, I'm going out for a bit of a walk with Nyanko-sensei!"

"Alright dear! Make sure to come back for lunch!"

"I'll try!" Takako replied, scooping the rotund ball of sleeping cat into her arms, and heading out. _I only hope that I'm not too late!_

"Wh… what are you doing? What's happening?" The cat was rather upset at the sudden movement jolting him awake from the comfortable position he had been in, "Natsume, you brat!"

"Be thankful that I'm carrying you and not making you run, Nyanko-sensei." Natsume sniped, feeling her arms tiring already from the weight of the cat. "Come on, we need to get to the Nishikawa manor and stop Natori from exorcising that _youkai_!"

"Oh for… what have I told you about not sticking your nose into every single sob story you come across? Let them have their own story, without your interference!"

"Sensei, please!"

"No! Absolutely not! You've already involved yourself further with that human than you should have!" Nyanko-sensei spat, jumping out of Takako's arms and transforming into his giant sky-dog form, blocking her path, "You will not involve yourself any further with him!"

"Sensei…!"

"I'm not offering you a choice here, Natsume."

Later on, when the two would reminisce about their early relationship, Madara would always vehemently deny what happened next. Gathering her strength behind her arm, Takako swung as hard as she could, and swatted him across the nose. Emitting a high-pitched whine, as a puppy would in the same situation, the giant _ayakashi_ disappeared in a puff of smoke, reverting to its smaller form of a _maneki neko_.

"If you won't help me, then just stay out of my way, sensei!" Natsume cried, breaking into a run towards the manor, leaving a bewildered cat behind her in a trail of dust.

* * *

_Don't let me be too late, let me get there in time… please…_

She arrived in front of the manor entrance, where she saw Natori, standing alone in the courtyard, a circle pattern that she had not seen before scratched into the earth at his feet. But no sign of the _youkai_ yet.

"Natori-_san_, you mustn't…" The rest of what she wanted to say was cut off by a familiar feeling that constricted around her torso, slamming her backwards into a tree in the courtyard, just feet away from the circle. Any air she had in her lungs was instantly smashed out of her. _This is becoming too common an occurrence to be healthy, surely?_ She thought in frustration, trying to kick herself out of the bonds of hair that held her in place.

"Do not interrupt the ceremony, human brat." The _shiki_ that held her captive ordered, tightening the restrictions a little more, "Do not shake my master's resolve."

Trapped. Helpless. _ Weak_.

_I refuse to feel that way. Never again!_

With one last pull of strength, she focused her energy on her arms, flexing muscles that really didn't exist, and letting out a scream with the very last reserves of air that she still held in her chest. Amazingly, miraculously, _luckily_, it was enough to snap the _shiki_'s hair, allowing her left arm enough freedom to punch into the spirit's face, repelling her several paces back, and letting Natsume regain her freedom.

But, as she was trying to figure out how she had managed to escape the _shiki_'s hold, Takako noticed in horror that the _youkai_ had already entered the courtyard, and had not hesitated to enter the circle.

And, just as unhesitatingly, Natori had begun to chant a spell,

"_Spirit of the Earth that guards this House,_

_Who has overstepped thy bounds…_"

"Stop it! You have to stop it!" Natsume screamed, running at a head-on hurtle towards the middle of the circle, where crackles of energy were beginning to build around the edges, ready to be focused towards the middle of the circle. Towards the _youkai_.

"Please stop!" With that, Takako hurled herself into the circle, covering the _youkai_'s body with her own, hugging her as close as she could.

"Natsume-_chan_? Hurry, get out of there! I can't stop the spell, it'll hurt you as well!"

He was telling the truth. Natsume felt the crackles of energy increase in intensity as they danced along her skin, burrowed under her skin, gave her so many shocks that it felt as if her very bones were on fire. But still, she couldn't abandon the _youkai_ with that sad, lonely wish that she had also had so long ago.

"Natsume!" The call was so distant that she almost didn't hear it. A second later, she wouldn't have heard anything – the spell built up to its climax, and the burning grew ever stronger, until she thought that she must be dying…

The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the safe, well-known feeling of coarse, thick fur surrounding her.

* * *

_"You're bleeding, you know."_

_It was summer. The sun beat at the ground, but after her latest failed escape attempt, she could not find the strength inside to care. She said as much to the inquisitive human child who could see her._

_"I'm Natori Shuuichi. I'll bandage you, if you like."_

_She allowed him to do as he liked. She did not expect him to be quite so… full of chatter._

_"For a child of humans, you talk a great deal."_

_"The old guys at the house say the same thing, but in a much meaner way. Those old men at my house keep calling me a cursed child, because I can see stuff that no one else can. They say I bring disease and misfortune. That's why my mother died – because I bring misfortune to people I care about."_

_Those shoulders… so small, and yet so despondent…_

_She reached out a hand, and placed it upon his forehead, startling the boy slightly._

_"A child of humans does not have such powers as to bring misfortune upon others. It is not possible."_

_The eyes, so full of young hope, turned their intensity towards her, shocking her momentarily, "Really? Are you sure?"_

_For a moment, as those eyes were focused on her, she could feel… what it had felt like to be free from the cursed rope that kept her in that place._

_"Positive. You are simply a child. Just a small, kind child."_

_Thank you, Natori Shuuichi, for reminding me of what freedom feels like. Thank you._

* * *

"Natsume-_chan_? Natsume-_chan_!"

Takako slowly came to her senses, and promptly wished she hadn't. The burning sensation had been replaced by the feeling of hundreds of needles trying to shove their way through her skull and embed themselves in her brain. Turning as much as she dared, she found Nyanko-sensei's reduced form lying beside her, looking worse for wear but still breathing. Looking on her other side, she saw the _youkai_, whose body looked even worse than before, and a piece of her mask was broken, revealing a single grey iris, but more importantly…

"The rope! It's been cut!"

"I… I am so, so sorry, Natsume-_chan_."

Natsume was shocked by the unexpected apology, "What precisely are you sorry about? The fact that your _shiki_ tried to crush me again, or the fact that you were going to _fry_ this spirit? Is _this_ how your clan deals with _youkai_? By _torturing_ them?"

"For all those things, and more. I didn't expect you to be reckless enough to actually throw yourself into the circle, but neither should I have hidden this from you. When I was commissioned for this job, I didn't think that the spirit would be the same one as the spirit I met as a child living in this area. I knew that the _youkai_ was trapped here, and I thought that, at best, the bond would be cut and they would be free…"

"But at worst, you didn't think that it would matter if they were destroyed?"

"Better that than the endless suffering she had to endure while trapped here, don't you think?"

Takako couldn't refute that argument – not when she had been in the same situation herself.

"Well then? What will you do now? She's free, but she still exists. Are you going to leave her alone, or are we going to have to do this," Natsume gestured across the burnt magic circle, and the scarred tree that had held her prisoner before, "all over again for me to convince you to leave her alone?"

Natori was silent for a moment, but burst into laughter soon after. Not really seeing an alternative, Takako laughed along with him. They laughed and laughed and laughed until they cried, and just like that, the breach that Natsume had carved between them began to be filled by just a small amount.

* * *

"I'll leave my number with you, Natsume-_chan_, but I think I'll hold off on that offer of an assistant's job until you've grown out of that recklessness of yours. You wouldn't think you had that trait, to look at you."

"It's just as well – I don't think that our methods of thinking are really all that compatible."

"Well, don't dismiss my way of thinking just yet – dismissing something without trying it first is the sign of narrow-mindedness, you know."

Natsume smiled at the joking-cum-serious tone that statement was said with, "Then I'll accept it along with recklessness as one of my many human failings."

"Be sure to keep in contact?"

"But of course – you still haven't told me about how you came to acquire that tattoo of yours. And I can't let you forget a promise." Takako replied solemnly, only to give a grin at the end, "Take care on your journey back to the city."

Takako and Nyanko-sensei had met with Natori at the train station to see him off – since filming in the area had finished, the actor didn't really have a legitimate reason to remain in the rural village, and had been summoned back to the city by his manager.

In the aftermath of her 'recklessness' (courtesy of Natori) and 'stupidity' (courtesy of Nyanko-sensei), it had taken her and Nyanko-sensei almost a week to fully recover from the effects of the exorcising spell. Nyanko-sensei's scolding and ranting was enough to convince Takako to never do something on this scale again, or at least, not until the _maneki neko_ cooled down enough over _this_ particular incident. But, she was somewhat mollified by the grudging admission of, 'but that's what makes you Natsume, I suppose' from Nyanko-sensei, which assured her that the cat wasn't _totally_ disapproving of what she did.

She had a niggling feeling that his displeasure was more aimed at _why_ she was willing to risk her life rather than _how_ she risked it.

During that time, she had called on Shinmichi to help carry the injured _youkai_ back to the Yatsuhara Fields and aid in her recovery, where the _youkai_ also spent the better part of a week and a half recovering from her various injuries, and having her horned mask fixed to fully cover her face again.

It was only that morning of Natori's departure that Shinmichi had contacted Natsume, informing her of the _youkai_'s sudden disappearance from the Yatsuhara Fields, and the note of thanks she had left, assuring them of her health, and apologising for her abrupt departure. _Well, if she was healthy enough to get up and sneak out without anyone else noticing, I reckon her health isn't really an issue,_ Natsume mused, waving one last goodbye to her newest human acquaintance, _although I'm a little disappointed that she still never gave me her Name_.

As she and Nyanko-sensei turned to leave the empty station, she froze as she came face-to-mask with the _youkai_ she had been thinking of just seconds ago. She gave a rare smile that actually reached her eyes, and whispered, "I'm glad to see you are well."

"My Name is Hiiragi, Natsume Takako. I consider it my honour to have you know it." And, with that last statement, the _youkai_, now known as Hiiragi, carried on through the station doors, following the path that Natori Shuuichi took.

As they watched the other human who could see _youkai_ and Hiiragi leave, Takako asked the small cat that walked by her side, "Why do you think she chose to follow him, Nyanko-sensei?"

"Who knows? Perhaps she's sweet on him, or something? _Youkai_ are like humans in some respects – nobody knows exactly what another is thinking, or how another thinks."

"Hmmm… well, whatever makes them happy, I guess."

And so ended her first encounter with someone with powers similar to her own; a bittersweet encounter, since it only confirmed to her that, even amongst her own kind, she would still be set apart by her attitude towards spirits. However, despite the promise of company and security if she would but forsake her friendships with _youkai_ and _ayakashi_, she found that she couldn't, even considering the pain that she had suffered at some of their hands. After all, there was still the Book of Friends to consider - who would be able (or, indeed, willing) to return those Names if she turned her back on it?

_I can't let people who think similarly to Natori even hear of the Book; not if I want to continue returning Names to those who want them._

"Speaking of happiness… take me to Nanatsuji-_ya_ again, Natsume! You owe me twice as many sweet dumplings for this latest fiasco!"

"I refuse."

"On what grounds?"

"On financial grounds, you idiot cat! Those sweets aren't exactly cheap, you know!"

"Why you cheeky little…"

They fought all the way to the shop, where Takako compromised and bought some red bean _manju_ instead – after all, Nyanko-sensei _had_ saved her from being totally fried in that circle that day. He deserved at least a little treat before being put back onto the diet she had planned out. Not that the _maneki neko_ knew anything about her plan yet.

_He's going to try and eat me half way through the diet, isn't he?_

* * *

"Did you sense it?" Natori asked his _shiki_, whose hair was still recovering from where Natsume had managed to escape from her.

"Yes, Master Natori. The human child managed to summon sprites to aid her in cutting my hair – it was an uncontrolled summoning, and didn't last for long, but she did not recite any spells, nor did she draw any symbols. She made no offering that I could see either."

Natori tapped on a knuckle, where the lizard that had accompanied him since childhood was currently residing, and stated, "Meaning that Natsume-_chan_ isn't only able to _see,_ but she is also able to summon sprites from thin air instinctively." He clenched his fist, and the lizard scrambled to get away from the tense muscles in his hand, "We must keep this from the Matoba family head, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Master Natori!" Came three simultaneous affirmatives, with the newest addition to his _shiki_ ranks, Hiiragi, joining the voices of her new comrades.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_So, as you can see, I am terrible at keeping updates coming at a regular pace. I've just started a new part-time job as well, which is fine on its own, but then you pile on the assignments, and the lab work, and the essay deadlines, and trying to keep up with lectures... fanfiction has, sadly, felt the restriction on my free time the most keenly._

_I had some lovely reviews for the last chapter - _**Eovin**_ is getting a special mention here, since they've given me probably the most detailed and longest review I've had so far for this story! I'm glad that someone else felt that the canon Universe didn't provide enough backstory for the plot, but then again, that's part of its charm, right?_

_Now, I know that it's a bit of a pet peeve of some people to mix Japanese words and expressions into English, and honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of it either, but I also feel that some things get lost in translation between Japanese and English that I can't really express using this language, honorifics being the biggest one. In Japan, the suffix that you attach to a person's name is a courtesy, and often reflects the relationship you have with a person. Although '-chan' is used in many cases with older people speaking to younger individuals, especially girls, it's not often used right off the bat. It implies familiarity and often familial ties, which is why Natsume here objects to Natori using it so casually with her._

_Now, I know that this chapter might prompt some haters about Natori's character, but I'm treating this as a long term project, so I'm leaving room for character development. As far as I can see from the canon character, he started at around this point as well, and it's through Natsume's influence that Natori eventually becomes less harsh and unforgiving about spirits and all that jazz._

_As for romance... the girl's only sixteen! She's been a bit too distracted so far by being able to see spirits and social isolation to really notice boys, so when someone like Natori shows up, it's natural for her to be a little starry eyed, I think. However, at this point in time they're still incompatible even as close friends, let alone potential love interests, and Natori still sees her as a child. That may or may not change later on in the story, but I can say for certain now that there won't be any concrete pairings in this piece of fiction, like it or not. There'll be conflict between the Matoba and Natori clans over Natsume, but it's more for her power than for her person._

_So... let me know what you think! Be gentle with me?_

_Fiametta xxx_

P.S: Next chapter will be a little shorter, since I don't want to keep you waiting for too long but with my dissertation deadline looming, it's all I can afford to write. It'll be an interlude, and will be introducing a little character with a hat ^_^


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